In the days following his debut as Jin, the Shadow Monarch, Knox's life split into two relentless lanes—different identities, equally exhausting schedules.
As Jin, he barely had time to sit still. Requests kept coming: border reinforcement, covert clean-ups, escort duties, and internal disputes.
Sometimes he was sent to silence problems before they escalated. Sometimes he simply appeared, handled the situation, and disappeared before anyone realized he had been there.
Meanwhile, as Knox, he wasn't any less busy.
Right after the press conference, Nefthis brought him to meet two people he already recognized the moment he saw them—because he had read about them in Necromancer Academy's Genius Summoner long before arriving in this world.
Jean Arskalt, the 2nd Legion Commander and Tenerife Echeverria, the 4th Legion Commander
Their reputations from the novel matched perfectly.
Jean carried an air that warned "don't slack."
Tenerife felt warm, but in a way that made Knox instinctively straighten his posture.
And yet—despite knowing who they were—Knox didn't expect what happened next.
Nefthis had barely finished introducing him when she added:
"…and yes, he's also Jin."
Jean paused.
Tenerife blinked.
A beat passed—
"We'll take responsibility for training him."
"We'd be happy to."
Not even a hint of hesitation.
Knox blinked. Once. Twice.
For a brief moment, his mind completely short-circuited.
…What just happened? Where am I? Who am I?
He stared at the three people in front of him, suddenly convinced they were all speaking an entirely different language.
Somehow—somehow—they had already agreed to train him.
"…Excuse me," Knox said at last, raising a finger. "Shouldn't my opinion be part of this discussion?"
No one even looked at him.
"…Right," Knox muttered.
And so, training began the next day.
Jean's sessions were strict. Her corrections were sharp, her patience measured, and her standards ridiculously high—but fair. Knox learned discipline, refined control, and how to maintain efficiency under pressure.
Tenerife, on the other hand, was gentle. "Relax your movements, do not be nervous." Her teachings focused on adaptability, precision, and how to fight spirits and ghosts.
Knox had read about their abilities in the novel. Experiencing them in person was another thing entirely.
Still, he grew.
He learned techniques he never expected to grasp this early. He picked up habits he didn't know he needed. And, somehow, he became close to them.
At one point, without thinking too hard about it, Knox started calling them:
"Sister Jean."
"Sister Tene."
Jean stiffened—then gave a tiny nod, pretending she wasn't secretly pleased.
Tenerife?
She smiled so brightly Knox almost took a step back.
And later, when she brought Knox to her 'home', the Ghost Palace, she actually gathered her entire people and proudly declared:
"Everyone, I have a new little brother!"
Knox wanted to melt into the floor. His toes curled so hard he was pretty sure they could dig him a grave.
Her subordinates clapped because refusing was probably dangerous.
Still… he couldn't deny it was kind of nice.
Training didn't only happen inside the Ghost Palace.
Jean brought him to her disciplined fortress territory—every building arranged with military precision.
Tenerife guided him through the maze-like Ghost Palace, where the walls shifted and the air felt like a quiet dream.
Through all of it, Knox's days blurred together—new skills, new missions, new bonds.
Whether he was Jin or Knox, masked commander or or bright, sunny boy, one thing became clear:
The world wasn't slowing down. But life wasn't just missions and training.
Knox still had one more identity he refused to abandon—
the one that existed long before he became Jin, long before the Shadow Monarch title echoed across the frontlines.
He was still a bounty hunter.
And there was absolutely no way he was going to let certain criminals sleep peacefully just because he was "busy."
If anything, he made sure they especially didn't sleep peacefully.
After all, Knox didn't want people to forget his original nickname:
White Devil.
…Not that he liked the nickname.
Of course not.
He wasn't that self-absorbed.
(He absolutely wasn't checking whether people still whispered it in shady districts. Pure coincidence. Really.)
Ahem.
In any case, he kept his bounty hunter activities alive—sometimes slipping away between missions, sometimes taking detours after training to "stretch his legs," which usually meant dragging a wanted criminal back like he'd just picked up groceries.
And then there was Knox's other life, the one everyone already knew about.
Knox the novelist.
He didn't forget that, either. With everything he had seen lately, his hands sometimes itched to write. Not just stories—he was genuinely considering making a manga.
Panels, pacing, dramatic shading… the idea had been chewing on the back of his mind.
There was even a more personal project floating in his head.
Knox wanted to write a Honkai Impact novel.
Something that could make people feel what he once felt.
He wanted readers to experience the heartbreak.
The emotional trauma.
The despair.
The pain of losing a beloved character to tragic storyline.
A completely therapeutic, healthy, totally not revenge-driven creative endeavor. Basically, he wanted to make them suffer.
If he ever wrote it, it would be his ultimate revenge against emotions he never fully recovered from.
He had many roles now—Shadow Monarch, swordsman, necromancer, student of two terrifying sisters—but in quiet moments, he still sat down, twirled a pen between his fingers, and wondered…is the world ready for this?
He wasn't sure. But one thing was clear. Knox Aznable wasn't giving up any part of himself.
And to test whether the world was truly ready for the emotional devastation of a Honkai Impact novel, Knox decided to start small.
Well—small by his standards.
He wrote Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.
A story specifically crafted to break hearts.
He adapted it carefully, polished every chapter, and released it under his novelist name. The reactions came almost instantly. Within hours, it climbed into trending lists. Within days, it became the new hit across the Dark Alliance—
and even outside it.
The comments were predictable.
Too sad. Too realistic. Too emotional.
"Why would anyone write something like this—?"
"—and why am I crying in public?"
Exactly as he expected.
But the most memorable reaction came from one person:
Lorain.
Knox still remembered the moment she finished the final chapter.
She sat on a chair, book closed, both hands covering her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks. When she finally looked up at Knox—eyes red, lips trembling—her expression practically screamed:
"Why did you do this?"
Knox didn't even try to defend himself.
He simply offered a small smile…
and quietly slid a piece of cake he had baked earlier onto the table.
A peace offering.
Lorain accepted it with a sniff, still glaring but already reaching for a fork.
Knox watched her calm down bit by bit, thinking to himself:
Maybe… just maybe… the world is ready for Honkai Impact.
A dangerous thought. But one step at a time.
Knox wasn't done testing the waters. Not because he enjoyed watching people cry.
No, no—of course not.
He would never do something so cruel purely for entertainment.
…This was research. Scientific. Professional. (That's what he told himself, at least.)
So Knox decided to take things one step further.
If Anohana had shaken the public, then surely they were prepared for something deeper. Something heavier. Something legendary.
Which is how he ended up writing Clannad. And when it was released, the world fell apart. Again.
People who had just started recovering from Anohana were emotionally demolished all over. Bookstores reported readers sitting on the floor crying. Several teachers at Kizen had to postpone classes because students were "not mentally stable enough to continue lessons."
And Lorain…
poor Lorain…
She read it alone at night.
Big mistake.
The next morning, she approached Knox with puffy eyes, trembling lips, and the expression of someone who had witnessed the downfall of civilization.
Then she turned around and refused to speak to him.
Luckily, just for three full hours.
Knox followed her while holding a gigantic cake—seriously, it was big enough that two people should have helped him carry it.
Eventually, Lorain took a bite. And just like that, forgiveness was granted. Food truly bridged all emotional wounds.
Even Nefthis ended up reading it.
Her reaction was… complicated. She stared at Knox for a long moment afterward, clearly trying to figure out if something was broken inside his head.
Meanwhile, Knox's personal 'big sis trio', Jane, Jean, and Tenerife, held a small emergency meeting.
"Is he okay?"
"…Emotionally, I mean."
"Should we check on him?"
"Why is a child writing things like this?"
They weren't angry. Just genuinely concerned.
From their perspective, Knox looked like a sweet, hardworking kid…who kept casually dropping emotional nukes on society.
But Knox?
He simply sipped tea, shrugged, and continued outlining his next story.
And without realizing it, time moved on.
Between missions as Jin, lessons from Jean and Tenerife, bounty hunts, and emotionally destroying half the Dark Alliance with his novels, Knox's days blurred together—quietly, steadily building up to something inevitable.
Just like that, Knox turned seventeen.
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Character Voicelines · Jane, Jean, and Tenerife: About Knox's Novel
Jane:sighs …This novel is too powerful.
Jean: …
Tenerife:sniff …sob… This is too sad…How can a boy like Knox write stories like this?
Jean: …
Jane (looking at Jean): ?
Tenerife (looking at Jean): Σ(ﾟДﾟ) Jean?! Don't tell me—are you crying?! To think even someone like Jean would cry… these novels are wicked!
Jean: (＃｀皿´)