The sunlight leaped into the room through the gaps in the curtain, illuminating the space.
Ibaan opened his eyes slowly.
He saw the beautiful sleeping face of Selpe. Relief washed over his heart. She wore an expression of sorrow and desire.
He turned, first looking at the curtains and then at the ticking clock suspended on the wall.
It was 5:12 AM.
'Ah, I woke up a bit late. Damn it.'
He quickly got out of bed. Finding the empty space in the bedroom, he sat cross-legged, straightened his back, placed his hands on his knees, and stretched his arms.
He meditated peacefully.
In his world, he never missed a day of morning meditation. It was a part of his life.
Warmth spread from his mind to his feet, and coldness from his feet to his mind.
He sensed every part of his body separating from itself. He saw their fragments and felt the control over them.
…
A flame-like energy burned from his heart, flickering with each second. He could feel it.
It was The Chikara—a power or could be called type of energ—a way to enter the Astral world, a universe that existed everywhere! He had been practicing it since he was a child, improving little by little every day.
And just fifteen seconds later, his eyes shot open.
He saw a sleepy girl crouched on the floor, staring at him, bewildered. Ivory skin, jet-black hair. Selpe.
Her eyes had turned pure crimson—redder than his own.
He was taken aback.
'What the hell?'
"What are you doing?" he asked, curious.
Her eyes returned to normal.
'Am I seeing things?'
Just as he was about to understand what had happened, the memory slipped from his mind—like he hadn't seen anything at all.
She put a finger to her cheek. "Nothing… just wondering. Am I in a dream? Or… what? Are you a monster?"
'Huh?'
He adjusted his posture. "Why would you be in a dream?"
She pointed. "Because how could you wake up this early? And… meditating? How come the Prince is doing something he hates?"
'Huh? Damn! I messed up. Think. Think. Think of an answer… Ah! Yes.'
He smiled and scratched the back of his head.
"Well… it's because of you. You said you'd show me how you're different inside and outside the house, so I meditated... kind of as a reward for myself, and to surprise you."
Her eyes lit up. "Really?? Oh my! How kind of you."
She paused for a moment, then continued, "Alright, I'm heading to make breakfast."
She left the room.
He sensed something was off—something didn't make sense. It wasn't exactly that he noticed it, but he felt a strange sensation growing inside him.
Shaking his head, he stood up and walked toward the clock.
The time was 5:45 AM.
'It took me almost thirty minutes this time… dropped by five minutes. Ah, soon this will all end.'
He sat on the bed and ordered subconsciously.
'Relic, open!'
A construct appeared out of thin air.
————
[Status:]
Name: Ibaan de Light
Mark: Mark of Divinity
…
[School]
School of Thoughts and Perseverance
User ID: 139-UR
Class: Unranked
Achievements: —
[School's Astral World]
Username: Dead Eye
Duels: |Win 4|Lose 30
Floor Number: 02
————
He read the [School] section that he had left yesterday to read later.
'Unranked?? He was definitely weak. Too weak. No wonder he was at the Initiate branch of the Mark. But the school system hadn't detected his powers, even though they had fused with his relic.'
Then, just as he focused on [Mark of Divinity], a new construct appeared before him.
————
[Mark of Divinity]
[Sealed Contract]: Eye of the Dead
[Contracted Party]: Unknown Being
[Dead Eye]: ???
[Branch]: Initiate. You have only unlocked the Initiate Branch of Divinity. You may use a drop of Dead Eye powers.
To use Dead Eye powers, you must ask Dead Eye—as per the contract—to lift the seal.
[Procedure]: Call out these lines from the depths of your heart:
"The Dead Eye of Fallens. In the Name of the Dead, I ask for the seal to be lifted."
————
He thoroughly read the runes and pondered.
'It's completely different from the unknown beings introduced… but also a little familiar. I need to be careful before doing this.'
…
He stood up and headed for the kitchen—first thinking of breakfast.
The fresh smell of cabbage reached him. It was delicious, even though cabbages weren't usually considered tasty. Selpe was truly professional; it was as if she had been cooking for ages.
She had finished stirring the pot. Pouring breakfast carefully, she said,
"Hurry and eat! We'll go to school early. We're taking the metro."
'Oh! Yes, I'll get to experience the metro!'
He sat at the dining table, took a bite of roti, and savored it.
It was amazing!
'She cooks well! Ahh Tasty!'
He wanted to find a way to start the conversation; eating in silence felt awkward.
Taking another bite, he said "Selpe, how will we choose the members?"
"I haven't thought about it yet," she replied.
He straightened his posture and smiled. "I have an idea!"
"See, we could choose some members from our school. I can do it. I'll use Dead Eye powers to create a system like our school's, fuse it with it, and assign missions directly. We could also host discussions at home like on the online communicator—but this won't be tracked."
Selpe knew he had a sealed contract with Dead Eye and the Mark of Divinity, though he couldn't communicate with Dead Eye directly—everyone faced the true curse when contacting Him, which had almost endangered and nearly wiped out the clan.
To gain other branches, like the Mark of Flame, they needed to reach at least the third level of a clan's special branch—such as Mark of Divinity, Mark of Oblivion, or Mark of Abyss for the Light Clan.
She was at a loss for words. "But how can you communicate with Dead Eye? You'd be dead if you tried… I survived because my mother did too…"
He smirked. "Am I alive or not?"
Her expression froze. She adjusted herself and coughed. "Got it! I've got some names for members."
She stood, came closer, and kissed his forehead. "I'll be back in a minute. You get ready!"
He blushed.
'Huh?'
His chest tightened. A question arose in his mind: Was this warmth real, or just part of Ibaan's usual life?
She quickly left the kitchen.
Ignoring his thoughts, he finished breakfast and went to the second-floor washroom.
He calmed himself, closed his eyes, and subconsciously ordered nature.
"Anything malicious detected—control the body for a minute. Leave for the room."
He opened his eyes, put his hands together, and spoke, feeling the weight on his lips:
"The Dead Eye of Fallens… In the Name of the Dead, I ask for the seal to be lifted."
…