While I was sitting in the library, thinking about all the information on the Shards, I felt a shadow wrap around my head. I turned to see who approached me, and to my surprise, it was the heir of Starwalkers.
"What do you want from me?"
I spoke with obvious annoyance in my voice, preparing to respond if he tries to do anything stupid when he interrupted.
"Have you finished reading this book? If you don't mind, I would like to read it," said the boy with golden eyes calmly, looking at the Shard information book.
'He just wants the book, why am I overreacting, ah.'
"You can take it. I was about to leave anyway," I pushed the chair back, stood up, and headed for the exit.
Halfway there, I heard his voice behind me:
"Thank you."
I wave my hands without turning and continued walking.
'Oh my god, can't I just meet a normal person? I'm tired of talking to these eccentric nobles,' I complained as I walked through the academy halls toward my room.
"Oh, Nox Stop where you are " a voice came from the corridor beside me. It turned out to be Silas, approaching with an annoyingly look , Makes me want to punch him in the face
'What does he want from me, and why does he appear while I'm trying to avoid nobles people? Don't they have anything else to do but annoy me? At least I can tolerate Elena because she's beautiful, but this mother fu*ker… I'd rather live on another planet than stay with him,' I complained, lamenting my bad luck.
Silas stopped in front of me, staring steadily.
"Professor, why are you looking for me? Do you need my help?"
I maintained my respect, trying not to show my annoyance at seeing him.
"Oh no, actually I'm here to help you," Silas waved his hand, denying my words.
"Help me? With what?"
I tilted my head in response to his words.
"Don't be stupid. Of course, I'm here to help you with your attribute. Are you really planning to use such an obvious lie?" Silas teased, narrowing his eyes at me.
At his words, my body immediately reacted. My instincts screamed to run, but how could I escape someone of his strength? My god, I thought only the director knew about my trait.
"Relax, I won't arrest you or anything like that. As you see, when someone your age awakens, a report goes through the academy first. It was a coincidence that I was the one to present the report to the director. After reviewing the information, we knew you were lying about your attribute. The matter is clear as day. Normally, we would punish you, but Lucky for you the director's beloved granddaughter was there," Silas tried to reassure Nox, but the look in his eyes showed he enjoyed Nox's fear.
"Elena? What does she have to do with this?"
I widened my eyes in shock as I spoke.
"As you can see, that girl has a sense of justice. When she heard us talking about your arrest, she intervened, saying it wasn't fair for nobles to hide their attributes while others are forced to reveal theirs. She noticed you're clearly afraid to share your attribute because you likely possess a powerful one that you hide out of fear of others' greed," Silas explained, remembering how Elena had boldly confronted them.
"Of course, we would have ignored her words even if she were the director's dear granddaughter, after all the rules of the alliance are clear. But guess what? That crazy girl said she would reveal her attributes to the entire world if we tried to arrest you, and she even asked us to help conceal your attribute. How bold, haha," Silas laughed loudly after telling Nox what happened.
'Elena helped me? That girl, why would she do something like this for someone she doesn't even know? What if I were a deranged person hiding my power, killing people?'
"So, professor, what happens now?"
I spoke, swallowing nervously.
"Oh, don't worry. We've already changed your attribute. The director ensured all appearance records were erased quickly. As for the officer… um, what was his name again? Oh, I remember, Alexander. Anyway, I silenced him and altered your records there."
"Silenced him?! Did you kill him?!"
Without realizing it, I raised my voice, stepping back in fear of Silas.
'Seriously, kill someone just to change a record? And the worst part, it's my fault.'
"Hah, do you think I'm some kind of animal? No, I didn't kill him. I changed his memory," Silas shook his head at Nox's assumption, looking at him as if betrayed by a friend.
"Changed his memories?!"
A cold shiver ran through my body, my breathing heavier. Does he have a frightening way to alter memories? What if he manipulates mine?
"Don't act like that. You don't need to know how I did it. But don't worry, I won't use it on you… maybe later, but not now," Silas laughed softly, looking at Nox as if he were a doll in his hands.
'Oh my god, I was foolish. Why in hell did I choose something stupid like Night Vision?' I cursed myself for such a dumb idea.
"You've taken enough of my time. Your new attribute is gluttony . In short, your darkness can devour attacks or dead/non-living things if you envelop them in darkness, as long as they aren't higher than your level. Don't worry about proving the attribute. Elena suggested this when she was in the director's office a little while ago. She mentioned that texts from other worlds describe the Dark Shard as devouring things, which is similar to the Abyss ability. It's unclear if this ability is a attribute or hust normal ability, but attribute often resemble each other among Awakened of the same type. So, no one will suspect you. Don't worry, the only ones who know your truth are me, the director, and Elena. We're not interested in exposing your secret, but..."
Silas stopped talking, narrowing his silver eyes. Darkness thickened in the corridor, pressing heavily on Nox. He would have fallen if not for shadowy hands that restrained him, choking his neck and lifting him into the air.
"Ughh, haaah, haaah,"
I struggled to breathe as the shadowy hands squeezed me tightly.
"But Nox, if you become a threat to humanity, we will erase you from the face of the earth. Understood?" Silas said coldly.
I gathered my strength and spoke with difficulty:
"I-I understand."
As soon as I said that, the shadows vanished, and the suffocating pressure disappeared. I fell to the ground, holding my neck, breathing deeply.
"Haah, haah, haah."
After a moment, I regained my composure, stood with difficulty, and stared at Silas.
"Good. Since my work here is done, I'll leave. See you in class."
Silas put on the same annoying smile, then turned to leave, but he stopping mid-step.
"Right! let me give you some advice treat Elena gently and make sure to thank her. After all, she's the reason why you're still alive." After saying this, Silas left without waiting for my reply.
'Fu*k! Fu*k! Fu*k you all! All I wanted was death and escape from this cursed life. Now I'm being watched by one of the strongest people in the world, and a mentally unstable person,' I was punching the nearby wall, thinking about what I must do in the future.
I stopped punching the wall after I got my fill and started breathing deeply.
'Let me go to my room and rest for now,' I thought, dragging my weak body, worn out from Silas's aura