It was afternoon when I woke up.
Not surprisingly, I spent the rest of the day testing my new ability.
Let's just say… it was a game-changer.
I could enhance my body the same way I did in my dreams, though not to the same overwhelming degree. My movements grew sharper, my senses a little clearer, my body more responsive. But it was nowhere near the freedom I had inside dreams, where I could bend everything to my will. Reality resisted me, pushing back against every attempt.
I suspected the strength of this ability depended on one thing: my mentality. The problem was, I had no way of knowing my mentality level. Still, I'd heard there was a test for it. And since I would soon be attending the Academy, I promised myself I'd find out once I got there.
Back to the results of my experiments:
I could enhance my body, yes, but I couldn't use dream-shaping abilities at the same time. It was either one or the other. Maybe my control was lacking, or maybe this new ability simply didn't allow me to affect multiple aspects of reality at once. Either way, I'd need to adapt.
But there was one thing I was sure of this was a strong ability. Stronger than anything I'd dared hope for. And there were countless ways it could evolve from here.
A quiet smile spread across my face as I whispered to myself:
"I can't wait for the next stage… what will my next ability be?"
There are seven stages for sinners, ranked from the weakest to the strongest: Stage 7… all the way to Stage 1.
Every hundred level, a sinner rises to the next stage and the level will rest. If things were still the same as they had been for the last eight years, then humanity's highest recorded stage was only Stage 3.
From what i know, once you reach Stage 3, you no longer gain levels from killing demons, Counts, or even Marquises, the equivalents of Stage 5 sinners.
The rest of the week passed in a blur.
And then, the day came—the day I was finally leaving this house.
This house, right on the border of the Carver stronghold. This house, where I had been watched day and night by sinners, ensuring I never stepped beyond its walls without permission.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound echoed through the silent halls. Loud as always.
For the love of God, can't they knock a little more gently?
I opened the door. Standing there was Calix, and behind him, several guards.
Now that I focused on him, I noticed the black circles under Calix's eyes. Overwork, maybe? His sharp jawline and stern face made him look even harsher with the exhaustion etched across his features. His blond hair caught the light in strands of gold, though the man himself looked anything but bright.
The guards behind him were dressed in identical silver suits, their posture stiff, ready for combat at a moment's notice.
Calix's voice came flat, devoid of warmth.
"Done stirring? If so, let's get going. I have a lot of work to do."
I simply nodded and followed him.
"If you have any personal belongings," he continued, "the Academy will retrieve them later."
"There's nothing here worth taking," I replied quietly.
Three sleek, black cars waited outside, engines humming like predators at rest.
Calix led me to the middle vehicle. Two guards climbed in with us, the others peeling off into the remaining cars.
The car moved. Calix cleared his throat and began speaking in that same rehearsed tone he used whenever he had to explain things that were far larger than either of us.
"The Insight Academy was founded fifty years ago," he said. "With the approval of the Four Families and the government. Its purpose is simple: train new Sinners from the age of fifteen. Prepare them for war."
I turned my eyes to the window. The city rolled by in a muted blur .streets, markets, homes. People moved about, caught in their own lives, unaware of the monster sitting among them. Or maybe they knew, and chose not to look too closely.
"There's a new class this year," Calix added, his eyes flicking toward me. "For kids like you .those who couldn't control their Sin and were isolated." He paused, then continued, "And Roy, don't think they're letting you come to the Academy out of goodwill. They're using you for war."
So, I was right. Things were worse than I thought.
To invite people like us—the unstable, the dangerous. it meant only one thing: desperation.
I turned my head toward him.
"And what if I don't rise to their expectations? What if I decide I don't want to participate in any of this?"
Calix gave a humorless chuckle, his lips curling in something that wasn't quite a smile.
"You can't, Roy. Not anymore. Your life changes now. And if you have no use to them, they'll dispose of you."
His words hung in the air, heavy and sharp.
"First, you'll face one of our top students in combat. Your performance will determine what kind of missions you're assigned." He lowered his voice, almost a growl. "You ....and the rest of your class."
I leaned back against the seat, staring out the window again.
So this was it.
We were tools.
If we proved useful, they would sharpen us, wield us, and throw us into the battlefield.
If not… we'd be discarded like broken blades.
"Fine," I muttered under my breath.
Outside, the cityscape was slipping away, fading into open land. I remembered walking those streets with my mother, back when the world had felt brighter, alive. Now, the buildings looked hollow, like lifeless shells. A ghost of a memory.
The car sped up. The hum of the engine filled the silence. Two hours passed, yet they felt like two heartbeats .swift and relentless.
Finally, Calix spoke.
"We've arrived."
I stepped out of the car. The sight that greeted me froze me in place.
Calling it an academy was almost a joke. This wasn't a school .it was a fortress.
Towers scraped the sky, walls stretched endlessly across the horizon, and the gates themselves looked more like the jaws of a beast than an entrance for students. Even the air felt different here—thicker, charged with an energy that pressed against my skin.
Calix stepped beside me, his usual coldness softening just for a moment. A rare smile flickered across his lips as he said:
"Welcome to Insight Academy."