A few minutes before Kieran woke up and activated his skill, inside the consciousness of Elliot Winters, Kieran Rhydan stood in the middle of an empty space. He stood atop a calm blue sea, motionless and still. The sky above was a radiant blue, and though there was no sun, it was slowly tearing and cracking open, revealing a black void behind it—blacker than darkness, colder than ice.
Despite the haunting scene before him, something about it was breathtaking. Bubbles floated through the air, each carrying different images of events from Elliot's life. The bubbles were encased in rings that resembled flames of various colors. Each color represented a different kind of memory—yellow for happy, blue for sad, and others with meanings of their own. These were Elliot's memories and dreams. The atmosphere was cold—perhaps because Elliot was a Winters—but at the same time, it held an oddly comforting warmth.
Kieran began walking aimlessly forward. For him, this was nothing unusual—he had entered the minds and memories of many before.
"There are a lot of memories despite him being dead. He was most likely killed within the last 24 hours... but this place is too calm. The boy must have been kind-hearted deep down for his mind's core to look this beautiful," Kieran said, his voice echoing into the empty silence surrounding him.
"I should get to work. It should take no more than a year if I don't slack off," Kieran added, stretching his arms and cracking his knuckles to begin.
He then crouched down in the center, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and entered a meditative state. In the next moment, the memories began to draw toward Kieran—but they only floated around him, not coming too close.
The Rhydan family is a noble house known for its experts in illusion and deception. From this family came a once-in-a-million genius—one whose ability surpassed illusion and reached into memory and dream manipulation. This was the ability of Kieran Rhydan: Spectral Recall. It allowed him to invade a target's mind and view their memories and dreams, even live them, alter them, and change them at will.
He could also invade the minds of the dead through physical contact—as long as no more than a day had passed since death.
The space Kieran entered—his current location—he called the mind's core, the center where memories and dreams merged. His Skill to view memories worked simply by focusing on the ones he wished to see. The memories would then gather around him on their own.
But as Aria had once said, no ability is invincible and without weakness. The flaw in Kieran's power was the psychological toll it took on him. Kieran would witness more than 1,000 memories simultaneously. In the outside world, this would take only minutes, but for Kieran, it was different—he experienced the memories in third-person view, but time passed for him as it did within each memory, not in the real world. On average, Kieran spent one year inside for every deep memory dive—only if he focused fully.
The first memory began.
Kieran found himself as a transparent specter floating above a small child, barely fifty centimeters tall, clinging to his mother, who cradled him lovingly. Her eyes were tired, yet filled with joy. This seemed to be the moment of Elliot Winters' birth.
The second memory began.
Kieran saw Elliot as a toddler, around age three, lying in his bed and reaching into the air. Suddenly, a cold air surrounded him, and an icy pillar extended downward from the ceiling, aimed at Elliot—whose eyes were wide with innocent curiosity. His father burst into the room, a broad-shouldered man with fog-covered eyes. Sensing a foreign mana, he swiftly shattered the ice pillar and looked at his son. The lines on his face showed concern. This was likely the moment Elliot awakened his Skill.
A third memory began.
Now Kieran was no longer in Elliot's home but in a grand golden palace glowing with light. Elliot stood among a group of other children whose faces were blurred by gray mist. They were likely between the ages of 9 and 13. Before them sat three men on luxurious thrones, with a red carpet leading to them. These were the heads of the Winters family, and their expressions were pleased. This appeared to be the moment Elliot's talent was discovered by the main Winters family, who then sent him to Nova University.
Another memory began.
Kieran now stood before Nova University, watching an 18-year-old Elliot, bag in hand, eyes wide with awe and shock at the size of the campus. It was a relatable emotion—every student felt something similar on their first day. This was the moment Elliot joined Nova University.
Another memory began.
Kieran was now in Elliot's dorm room, watching from below as Elliot lay silently on his bed, crying while clutching a piece of paper so tightly it tore. He sobbed quietly, alone. His roommate was not present. Kieran's specter drifted closer to read the note. It was a letter of renunciation—the Winters family had disowned Elliot Winters due to his poor performance, bringing shame to the family name.
Another memory began.
Kieran now found himself in Lovers' Garden, looking down at Elliot, who sat with a girl who had long brown hair and deep brown eyes. Her smile was radiant, her eyes full of life. This was Liora Val. She spoke to Elliot. Though Kieran couldn't hear anything in this state, he read her lips when she said, "I love you." He was sure of it from Elliot's shy reaction and the blush that bloomed on his face. Yet despite that, Elliot held her hand. This was the moment Elliot Winters and Liora Val began dating.
Another—and final—memory began.
Elliot was walking alone at night, a happy expression on his face. He was holding his phone, texting his girlfriend, Liora. After sending his final words—what would later be revealed as his last words—he put his phone in his pocket. In the next instant, a massive wound opened in his chest, and he found himself bleeding. A larger man in an Oni mask stood before him. Elliot spat blood and tried to scream, but only more blood came out. He collapsed, gasping his final breaths. As he looked up, eyes brimming with tears, the killer reached for his mask, about to remove it—when Kieran suddenly felt his body being yanked with immense gravitational force, pulling him out of his specter form and hurling him back into the real world, where he was in the same room with Aria and the other doctors. That was Elliot's final memory.
In the present, after Kieran had awakened and finished exploring Elliot's memories—or rather, what was left of them—he gently set Elliot's head down.
Kieran felt pain in his head, dizziness, and a powerful urge to vomit. He had spent two entire years inside Elliot's memory. But he held back those urges—for now.
"…Oni mask," Kieran muttered softly under his breath.
"Oni mask? What do you mean by that?" Aria asked, her curiosity tinted with irritation.
"The killer was wearing an Oni mask," Kieran explained, eyes fixed on Elliot's lifeless body before him.
The Backpack Kieran had been floating on rose into the air, drifting away from the corpse as he hovered closer to Aria.
"I was forced out… because Elliot died that very moment, before he could see the killer's face. I can't see what Elliot himself didn't see. If only it had lasted one second longer... damn it," Kieran thought to himself, clicking his tongue in frustration.
"Oni mask?... Oni mask… Oni mask! That's impossible!" Aria thought, her mind flashing back to distant memories—
—The image of a young boy with black hair and black eyes.
But the issue wasn't with the boy. It was with the tall man speaking to him—
A man wearing an Oni mask.
But there was another problem about the boy...
"…Noah… Grace…"
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Outside, the girl "Liora Val" in the background had left, and Sirius, Neriah, and Enel stood behind Noah, silently observing his conversation with Luo Yan. They noticed that his relationship with Luo Yan was a bit close—perhaps because she was the one who had brought him here in the first place. Noah acted naturally with her, just as he did with them.
"Sirius, can I ask you something?" Neriah asked curiously as he looked forward at Noah and Luo Yan.
"What is it?" Sirius asked, turning to Neriah with interest.
"…Why do you care about Noah in that way? It hasn't even been a week since we met him, but you grew close to him quickly, and you're the closest to his heart among us," Neriah asked, his curiosity justified. Despite Sirius being flirtatious by nature, in all the time Neriah had known him—which wasn't a short time—he had never seen Sirius attached to someone this much, like he was to Noah.
Sirius remained silent for a moment, as if Neriah had struck a sensitive chord. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. He didn't have the right words to explain his reason—or rather, he didn't know how to express it with ordinary emotions. So he just smiled and looked forward again at Noah and Luo Yan.
"Neriah… I've seen a lot about Noah," Sirius said with blank eyes. Neriah saw sadness in them, but said nothing.
"I guess I'm a compassionate person after all. Turns out I feel pity and sorrow for people," Sirius added in a provoking tone—not to provoke Neriah, but himself.
"What do you mean?" Neriah asked, surprised and curious. These were words he'd never heard from Sirius before. The Sirius he knew didn't talk about "pity" or "sorrow"—especially not for someone he met just a few days ago.
"Neriah, do you know what Noah fears most?" Sirius asked—not out of curiosity or expecting an answer, but more to guide Neriah to the truth.
"What he fears most… judging by what I just saw, from his reaction to that incident, maybe he's afraid of death, like anyone else?" Neriah replied, but he wasn't sure. He wasn't like Sirius, who could see people's information with a single glance—he simply didn't know.
"Quite the opposite. He's not afraid of death at all. It's something else...Noah is afraid of being rejected by people because of who he is," Sirius said, placing his hands in his pockets and raising his head toward the sky. The sun was at its peak—2:00 PM.
"…What kind of fear is that? He's not different at all from anyone else," Neriah said, frustrated—not at Sirius, but at himself. Maybe he felt guilt, or maybe understanding. Just look at Noah: from his very first day at the university, everyone hated him just because he didn't go through the same test as the others. Just because Luo Yan had personally summoned him as the university's representative...
"…That's injustice," Neriah muttered under his breath, a strange feeling crawling through his veins like revulsion. How could he not feel that way when witnessing the kind of oppression his friend was facing?
"Noah told me he's happy he can have silly conversations with me… He smiled and laughed, happy to call me his friend," Sirius said quietly, smiling at the sky. He was filled with pride and joy—proud to be the friend of someone like Noah, and joyful that Noah called him a friend. He couldn't even remember the last time someone called him a friend besides Neriah and Enel—and that meant the world to him.
"People like Noah have fears like that only because they didn't get enough love from their families… or maybe their real families were never present in their lives… The cure for people like that is affection," Sirius added, turning to Neriah with a bright smile. It wasn't his usual dumb or silly smile—it was a genuine, heartfelt one, capable of lighting up the darkness.
"I want to be the friend of someone like that and show him the affection he needs, Neriah," Sirius added, clasping his hands behind his back and leaning forward slightly, laughing softly—a pure, gentle laugh.
"…" Neriah stayed silent, then looked down and gave a soft smile. He reached out and gently patted Sirius on the head.
Sirius was slightly surprised and glanced at Neriah's outstretched hand from the corner of his eye, confused.
"So, if you ever feel like you need some affection too, you can tell me. I'll give you as much as you want," Neriah said with a wide smile, proudly pointing his thumb at himself.
Sirius stayed silent, stunned by Neriah's sudden change in behavior. The one who was always the most mature among them had never shown this kind of tenderness before—but Sirius couldn't help himself. He had to tease Neriah back.
"And who would want your affection, old man?" Sirius said, sticking out his tongue mockingly to annoy him.
"Hah?! What did you say, you brat? I'm trying to help you, and you act all cocky, you little punk!" Neriah replied, annoyed, his mood souring at Sirius's return to his childish antics.
Despite this, Sirius gladly accepted Neriah's offer. Neriah knew this, proven by the fact that Sirius didn't push his hand away from his head.
In the back, behind Neriah, stood Enel alone. His sense of isolation had deepened after witnessing a conversation he felt was important—one he hadn't been part of. Or rather, one he didn't insert himself into. The only one in Noah's group that day who didn't smile, and His self-hatred grew stronger.
Enel Hall.