Kuoh's nightfall carried an odd chill. A quiet unease nestled in the breeze, unnoticed by most but heavy enough to press on the sensitive like invisible weight. Rei stood on the rooftop of a derelict warehouse near the city's industrial zone, where the Spirit Signature had drawn its faintest line—barely a pulse, almost hesitant.
The sky above was moonless. The air was thick with potential.
[System Alert: Spirit Manifestation Confirmed. Location: Kuoh Industrial Outskirts. Emotional Signature: Apathy. Sync Compatibility: Pending. Threat Level: Moderate to Unknown.]
Yoru emerged from a split shadow beside him, her eyes narrow, hands folded behind her back. "It's here. I can taste the silence."
He didn't speak. Rei's gaze was locked on a figure just barely visible at the center of a ruined lot. Surrounded by twisted metal and cracked cement, she stood barefoot in a dress as colorless as mist. Long white hair fell past her knees, and her eyes—if they were open—remained obscured by a curtain of strands.
Laeva arrived next, perching atop a nearby crane as if it were a throne. Her dress shimmered faintly in the artificial lights, contrasting the dullness of the new arrival. "Is it mute, or just shy?" she asked, fangs gleaming.
Karasu dropped beside Rei, exhaling cold breath. "I feel… nothing from her. Not even a ripple."
[Spirit Classification: Unidentified. Emotional Domain: Void. Proposed Codename: Nullia.]
Rei stepped forward.
The girl didn't flinch.
"Can you hear me?" he called gently.
The girl tilted her head.
It wasn't an acknowledgment. It was curiosity.
[System Interface: Attempting Communication… No response. Interface Error: Emotionless Core Detected. Sync Interface Disabled. Initiating Override Protocol. Authority Tier Required: Spirit Commander.]
Rei paused. That wasn't standard. Even corrupted spirits had emotional signatures to latch onto. This one had none. No sorrow, no rage, no hope.
Just stillness.
"She's not hostile," Yoru whispered. "But she's not alive, either."
Karasu frowned. "She's like a mirror with no reflection."
"Then we'll give her one," Rei said.
Laeva snorted. "You want to awaken a spirit without a domain? You're brave, master."
"I'm consistent."
He approached the girl, step by step, until he was within arm's reach. The air was colder here, but not unpleasant. Like winter refusing to become spring.
[Override Command: Inject Prototype Spirit Anchor. Emotional Seed: Choice—Curiosity. Activation: Manual. Consequences: Unknown.]
He reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a sliver of obsidian shaped like a fang. Etched on its surface were the runes of the Spirit System, a language only Rei and the System truly understood.
"I'm going to offer you a name," he said.
For the first time, the girl's head tilted the other way.
"I name you—Noira."
The runes flared. The fang glowed. Wind spiraled in a column around them. The girl blinked, and her mouth opened slightly. Just a breath. A whisper.
Light exploded from beneath her feet. The old cement split open with veins of violet, blue, and grey. Her body rose into the air like a puppet lifted by strings made of stormlight.
[System Update: New Spirit Registered. Codename: Noira. Domain: Emptiness. Element: Unknown. Emotional Seed: Curiosity. Sync Status: Dormant. Anchor Successful. Authority Tier Confirmed: Commander. Processing Integration…]
Yoru covered her eyes. "She's being born from nothing."
Karasu nodded. "No trauma. No memory. No past. This one isn't reawakened—she's brand new."
Laeva looked uneasy. "That… shouldn't be possible."
Rei watched as the girl's form stabilized. Her previously dull dress was now translucent grey, tinged with amethyst lines pulsing like veins. Her hair floated, her eyes opened—clear, silver, empty, yet vast.
She descended softly. When her feet touched the ground, the light vanished.
[Spirit Noira Online. Default Behavior: Observational. Emotional Response Layer: Under Construction. System Link: Passive. Awaiting Instruction.]
Noira blinked at Rei.
"…Who am I?"
Rei smiled. "A question worth asking."
At Kuoh Academy the next day, students were abuzz with talk of strange lights in the industrial sector. Rias sat in her clubroom, arms folded. Akeno poured tea, her gaze thoughtful.
"Another spirit?" Rias asked.
"Possibly," Akeno replied. "But this one… isn't setting off the same warnings."
Kiba looked out the window. "That could mean it's benign."
"Or more dangerous than we think," Rias murmured.
Meanwhile, Rei walked the school halls with Karasu and Yoru in tow. Noira followed behind him like a ghostly shadow, now disguised by a simple uniform and an illusion cloak provided by the System.
"Will she be okay here?" Karasu asked.
"She needs data. Emotion. Connection. This is the best place," Rei replied.
Yoru chuckled. "High school: birthplace of drama."
As they walked, a female student passed by—one of the more… curvaceous upperclassmen. Noira stopped and stared at her.
"Soft," Noira said.
Rei nearly choked. "We'll work on filters later."
[System Update: Spirit Noira - Emotional Imprint Detected. Tag: Interest. Subject Type: Onee-san. Synchronization Progress: 3%.]
Laeva's laughter echoed telepathically across their link.
Rei sighed. "This is going to be a long semester."