I pressed my forehead against the cold glass until it began to hurt.
"Black hair isn't exactly rare," I glanced around—and of course, he was the only one with it. "Dual swords? Probably one of those guys trying to look cool and edgy. A wannabe Kirito, or something."
"That's not him. Just a coincidence. Purely. Coincidence." saying it like prayer, or perhaps a curse, because maybe the world would listen if I said it enough. "Must be like one of those doppelganger shit."
"The face. Hair. Body.... The posture..." I froze the moment everything clicked. "The uniform..."
"No," I whispered. Once. Twice. Again. "No. No."
This couldn't be happening.
As if denying it would rewrite reality.
A crowd had started forming. Not close, but close enough. People pretending they weren't watching. Something's about to happen, and nobody wants to miss it.
And there he was. Shin Morino. Black hair, eyes like ink. He has a presence that you cannot simply ignore, like a gravity in human form. You couldn't look away.
Across from him stood another guy. I didn't know him nor recognize him. But he had that look, a look that's about to break. "We had a deal, Shin!" He shouted.
From his ash-blonde hair that was all over the place, collar tugged loose, and his wrinkled uniform, everything about this man was a mess.
Yet his face told the story. Eyes red and raw. Veins running hot along his neck. Jaw trembling in anger, barely even holding together. That wasn't anger. That was combustion waiting for a reason.
He looked at Shin like he'd stolen his life, his pride, his girl—everything.
And Shin?
He didn't even flinch.
He stood there calm and detached.
Like he already knew how it ends.
He raised his hands and palms open.
Then showed a smile.
"Calm down," He said. "You're overreacting. Let's not escalate into something we'll both regret."
The crowd buzzed with curiosity, confusion, and a few smirks because everyone loves a little drama.
Then, the courtyard was silent.
Like someone killed the sound.
The laughter, the murmurs, all disappeared.
Even the air seemed to stop.
The blond boy stepped forward. "I did the end of my bargain, do yours!" His voice crackled, sharp and messy.
His anger echoed across the vicinity.
Shin didn't move, didn't blink. Simply tilted his head a little, that too-calm expression still nailed to his face.
"I did," He said, voice flat. "I retracted everything. But the decision's not mine—it's theirs."
The blonde's face became twisted. "Huh?! What the hell's that supposed to mean!?"
"No ill intent," Shin replied, same calm, same emptiness. "I did what I could."
The thing you say when you want someone to hit you.
"Stop bullshitting me! You're just as guilty as I am! But they're letting you walk free?" His fist trembled, teeth grinding, jaw ticking. The kind of anger that rattles the bones.
"I did my thing. You do yours. Simple as that." Shin said with a smile, almost amused. "Maybe start reading the meaning of the word accountability. Might help you in the long run—a good start."
And that smile—the reason.
The crowd caught on first. Who doesn't. You could feel the shift, the air going thin. Everyone knew what was coming. Shoes scraping, voices breaking from screaming. Everyone ran. Nobody wanted to see what came next.
The blond snapped. He shot his hand forward in one fast motion. The floor split open, veins of green light tearing through stone. Symbols crawled up like insects, spilling light and wind.
The blast came screaming, shards of air, sharp enough to peel skin.
But Shin barely moved. A single step to the side. With a flick of a finger, casual, the magic tore itself apart midair. Gone.
Light shimmered between them.
A faint symbol crawled to life at their feet, lines etching into the stone.
The blonde boy clenched his fist until his knuckles whitened. Wind spiraled around him, kicking up dust and petals. They're whispering like they knew what he wanted. Justice? Blood? Hard to tell the difference when you're angry.
"Not the wisest thing to do," Shin said.
Shin mirrored his stance. One hand lifted, fingers loose, like he was bored. A ripple of white light circled under him, clean and cold, the edges twitching, breaking apart. The ground couldn't hold still around him.
It didn't look right.
Compared to the blonde, his magic circle was glitching.
The blonde guy moved first. Wind wrapped around him, snarling around him like a leash too tight to hold. He lunged fast, too fast. His movement screams furious, illogical, the kind that came solely from his emotions.
The wind coiled around his arm like a living thing. Then, with a motion so simple it almost seemed lazy, the wind burst forth.
Shin didn't move. Not until he had to. Then he did, quite barely. A few exchange later. Steel met steel. The sound cracked the courtyard open. The ground shuddered.
The blonde guy kept swinging wildly and desperately. He fought like someone trying to break the world with his bare hands. On the other hand, Shin countered it with precision and control, moving in fluidity. Where the blond boy was a beast, whereas Shin was graceful.
"This is insane," I said, feeling my cheeks lift. I grabbed my mouth with my whole hand, like my body was suppressing something before it could escape.
Every hit sounded like the end of something. Sparks scattered across the stone ground.
Then, boom.
A blinding flash. Like the world blinked.
When I opened my eyes again, the blonde's on his knees. His sword buried in the ground behind him like its given up. Though the wind still coiling around him, trembling, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat.
Shin stood over him. A thin line of blood painted across his jaw.
He looked calm. Way too calm.
Same cold eyes. Same quiet confidence, like everything was just a background noise.
However, something's off. He was stubborn, righteous to a fault. The guy who charged into danger because someone had to. The kind of idiot people called a hero because he never stopped believing in happy endings.
A light that burned so bright it blinded you.
But right now...
He was standing there, blood dripping, eyes cold as steel...
He looked nothing like a hero.
Who is this guy?
Then I saw her.
My breath caught in my throat.
It didn't feel real. More like a deja vu. Like watching a memory, or the beginning of a dream I'd forgotten I'd had.
She stood there. Raven hair tied high with streaks of gold. Eyes the color of gold, with calm and precise behind, who could cut through excuses before words even formed.
Her uniform was immaculate. Too perfect. Not a wrinkle in sight. Not a thread out of place.
Black coat buttoned all the way up. White shirt inside, crisp and clean, red tie clean enough to cut through glass. Even her crimson leggings looked pristine. Then the boots? Polished, so shiny that it made you feel unworthy to look directly at them.
The katana at her waist wasn't something out of the ordinary, unlike Shin. The sheath was plain, black lacquer finish with gold threads coiled neatly around the hilt. It fit her like the sword and her were one.
She stood straight, hands at her side, posture firm but effortless. A person who had only known control.
She walked toward them with one hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
Every step measured. Every breath controlled. Every movement. Every subtle shift of her gaze.
All of which, identical to what I remember.
"Adelle Fabien, the first heroine..." I muttered.
From up here, it looked like I was watching a movie.
Shin stood there, grinning like an idiot. "Hey, there! Ms. Adelle!"
He said it like this was all normal. Like, they weren't standing in the aftermath of their last exchange.
She walked through the smoke. Ponytail swaying with each step. She didn't respond. But she didn't need to. Her presence alone did all the talking.
"This is your second offense," She said, voice flat and precise. "Violation of the academy code. Willful disruption of public order. Unauthorized combat within non-permitted zones."
Shin nodded along, pretending this was some casual conversation over coffee. "Right, right. Totally slipped my mind."
"Destruction of property." Adelle sighed, squeezing the bridge of her nose
Shin raised his hands with a half-grin on his face."You make it sound worse than it is—"
Her eyes cut to him, and without raising her tone, she said."It is worse than it is... Your first warning should have been sufficient. Continuing this behavior will result in another formal disciplinary action."
"And you," She said, shifting her gaze to the blond boy. The one who'd tried to tear Shin's head off moments ago."Third offense. Repeated violence. Unprovoked aggression. Property damage."
The guy flinched, but said nothing. You could see it. His pride was crumbling just beneath the anger.
Then Shin, because he can't help himself, raised a hand."Hey, maybe cut him some slack, yeah? He just needed to blow off some steam."
Adelle's head slowly turned to him. "You think this is funny?"
He smirked. "I think it's human."
His line hung there, heavy, like cigarette smoke.
And the worst part? He meant it.
Shin, treating the situation like another Tuesday, added. "Let's not make it sound like he killed someone. I kinda provoked him. That's on me. Bad habit dies hard."
"Step aside, Mr. Morino." She said sharply.
"Whoa, whoa, chill there. You got the look of someone about to sentence the guy here to death." He waved his hand like he was fanning away smoke.
Adelle looked at both of them, then exhaled. "What are we trying to accomplish here?"
Shin just grinned, head tilted, all charm and no shame."C'mon, Ms. Adelle. He was pissed, I was asking for it. Let's call it… mutually poor decision-making."
She didn't reply. Just exhaled.
The blond didn't move. Still clenching his fist at his sides, the fight hadn't left him yet.
Shin laughed. Too loud, too loose, a laugh so out of place.
Watching them, I couldn't tell if he was brave, stupid, or something in between.
"Besides, it's not like we broke a lot of stuff here."
Adelle's gaze swept the courtyard, then back to him."You may want to reconsider that statement."
"Yeah," Shin agreed, scratching the back of his neck, "Fair point."
He turned slightly, running his hand through his hair, trying to shake the whole thing off. A laugh slipped out and he leaned back with it. In doing so, his gaze lifted by chance.
Past the courtyard.
Past the broken stone and dispersing crowd.
Past the glass that separated his world from mine.
And then his eyes found me.
No recognition. No intent. Just a casual look.
I froze.
They were alive.
And in that instant, the line blurred. Standing there, existing in the same place as him, breathing the same air. The fine line between fiction and reality had begun to collapse.
This is real.
I staggered back.
I plopped down into the chair. I leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
Empty and white.
Pretending that what I saw was some elaborate dream or a trick of the mind. But denial didn't hold up well against reality when they were right there, breathing, moving, existing.
Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe I'd fallen into some alternate version of the world where people just happened to look and sound like the ones I knew from Spirit Infinite.
Every name, every face, every impossible detail lined up like a cruel joke told twice.
Coincidence. Sure.
Unlikely didn't even begin to cover it.
Adelle Fabien. The heroine.
Shin Morino. The protagonist.
After what happened earlier?
Of course.
Why not, when you can have a sequel immediately?
I pressed my palm against my eyes like it could erase what I'd seen if I just pushed hard enough.
I peeked through my fingers, stared at the ceiling.
Live through it. Everything's going to be fine. Smile more. Take care of yourself.
All the bullshit people say when they want to feel like they helped.
I dragged a hand down my face. My skin felt too tight. Heck. How many stages am I running right now? Skipped straight to despair, backpedaled to denial, then took a wrong turn somewhere around apathy for fun. I don't know anymore.
I laughed. It came out broken.