Haruto stretched his limbs, a sensation of pure relief washing over him. It had been an eternity of being bedridden or strapped into that wheelchair, and now, finally, his legs felt solid beneath him. He shoved his hands into his pockets, his posture relaxed, and began to wander through the Academy's sprawling halls.
He was like a kid in a candy shop, but instead of sweets, there were impossibly complex machines humming behind glass displays. Some were antigravity stabilizers, others looked like sentient computing cores. As he passed a massive, rotating energy-refinery engine, he paused, his eyes narrowing as he traced the wiring pattern.
It's efficient, he thought. The circuit flow is so clean... it has to be Daisy's work.
He couldn't help but admire her mind. She wasn't just a soldier; she was an architect of this reality. But as he wandered deeper into the main atrium, he started to feel the weight of a thousand eyes.
He was so focused on the tech that he hadn't realized his own appearance was turning heads. He was a complete stranger in an environment where everyone knew their place. He had the sharp, refined look of the elite uniforms, but his hair—that striking, unusual color—and his mismatched eyes made him stand out like a beacon in a sea of monochrome students.
He caught snippets of conversation as he walked by:
"Who is that? He's not from the senior tier...""Look at his eyes. Are they colored lenses? No, they look... real.""I've never seen him before. He's walking like he owns the place, but he's clearly not part of any main faction."
It wasn't just the girls whispering or stealing glances. Even the guys were tracking his movements, their expressions a mix of confusion and mild hostility. Haruto felt a prickle of annoyance on the back of his neck. He wasn't trying to be a celebrity; he was just trying to kill time.
He stopped near a fountain, catching his reflection in the polished obsidian surface. Right, the hair. The eyes. He looked less like a normal student and more like a glitch in the Academy's perfect, disciplined system.
He realized then that by walking around like he belonged, he was painting a target on his back. He wasn't just a "companion" anymore; he was a mystery. And in a place like this, mysteries were usually dealt with very quickly.
He adjusted his collar, trying to look less "attention-grabbing," and quickened his pace. He needed to find something to do that didn't involve being the center of the student body's gossip, before someone decided to challenge him to prove his worth.
Haruto eventually ducked into the academy's garden, hoping the greenery would dampen the suffocating attention. He found a bench tucked away behind some ornamental, light-emitting shrubs and sat down, letting out a long breath.
Even here, he felt like a spectacle, but the garden was crowded enough that people were distracted by their own gossip. He noticed a strange, recurring pattern: everyone was walking with a rigid, practiced discipline—heads held high, uniforms pristine. Everyone except for one person.
Haruto's gaze drifted toward a path on the far side of the fountain. A boy was shuffling toward the bench area, and the contrast was jarring. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. He had heavy, bruised-looking dark circles under his eyes, his black hair was a chaotic, messy mop, and his posture was completely slumped—one shoulder dipped lower than the other as if he were dragging the weight of the world behind him.
He looked physically similar to Haruto in build, but the energy around him was dark and frantic, like a glitch that refused to be patched.
As the boy moved, Haruto noticed something fascinating: the crowd parted for him, not out of respect like they did for Daisy, but out of genuine, instinctual fear. Students who were laughing just a second ago went stone-silent, pulling their bags closer and stepping off the path to let him pass.
The boy didn't even acknowledge them. He just kept walking, his eyes unfocused, staring at something only he could see.
He's not a Founder, Haruto thought, watching the boy intently. But he's definitely not a normal student either. Who is he, and why is everyone terrified of someone who looks like he's about to collapse?
Haruto felt a strange pull—the same "glitchy" feeling he got when his own Nothingness powers acted up. Without thinking, he shifted on the bench and cleared his throat, loud enough to cut through the quiet of the garden. The boy stumbled, his head snapping toward Haruto with a jerky, unnatural motion. His eyes—hollow and drained—locked onto Haruto's.
Haruto barely had time to blink before the boy, who had been walking away, stopped dead in his tracks. With a movement so sudden it felt like a frame-skip in a video, the boy spun around and locked eyes with Haruto.
Without a word, he drifted across the grass, his movements soundless, and sat down right next to Haruto on the bench. Haruto instinctively stiffened, his hand hovering near the dampener on his wrist, but the boy didn't seem aggressive.
"Hello," Haruto said, testing the waters, his voice slightly hesitant.
The boy tilted his head, his messy hair falling into his eyes. A soft, strangely innocent smile spread across his face—a complete contrast to his exhausted, hollow appearance. "Hello," he replied, his voice barely a hum.
The boy leaned over, resting his chin heavily on the palm of his hand, his elbow propped against his knee. He looked Haruto up and down with intense, curious eyes. "You don't look like you belong here. What is your name?"
"I'm new," Haruto said, relaxing slightly. "I just arrived today. My name is Haruto."
The boy just hummed in response, his eyelids flickering. Before Haruto could ask him, the boy's breathing evened out. In a matter of seconds, his head lolled to the side, and he was fast asleep, his light snoring blending into the ambient buzz of the academy garden.
Haruto sat there, stunned. Is this guy for real?
He looked around, feeling awkward sitting next to a sleeping stranger. He slowly slid away, stood up, and began to walk toward the exit of the garden.
As he walked, he felt the atmosphere shift. The students nearby, who had been terrified of the boy just moments ago, were now staring at Haruto with wide, disbelieving eyes. The whispers were deafening.
"Did he just... talk to him?""He didn't get killed... the boy actually fell asleep next to him?""Who is that guy? How is he so calm?"
Haruto was about to leave the garden when he noticed a younger student, likely a first-year, huddled behind a decorative pillar near the fountain, wiping tears from his eyes. His face was pale, and he looked genuinely shaken.
Haruto paused, his conscience getting the better of him. He walked over and crouched down. "Hey, are you okay? Why are you hiding?"
The boy jumped, looking at Haruto with wide, fearful eyes. "You... you were just sitting with him! Why are you still here? You should be running!"
Haruto frowned, tilting his head. "You mean the guy on the bench? He just fell asleep. Why is everyone so terrified of him?"
The boy looked at Haruto as if he had just asked why the sky was blue. "You're really new, aren't you? That's not just some student. He's a monster. Everyone in the first year knows to stay at least ten meters away from him. He's a prodigy, he has an immense amount of mana, and he uses it to just... crush anyone who gets in his way."
Haruto looked back at the bench where the boy was still sound asleep. "He seems harmless enough. He barely said two words to me."
"That's because he hasn't decided to play with you yet!" the kid hissed, his voice trembling.
"Second-year and third-year students try to challenge him all the time. They think because they're older, they can take him down. But he doesn't even use a weapon. He just stands there, stares at them, and they... they just break. I've seen him destroy the best fighters in the second year without even breaking a sweat. If you were sitting next to him, how are you still standing?"
Haruto stood up, his gaze narrowing as he looked at the sleeping boy. The boy wasn't just exhausted; he was radiating a faint, dark pressure that was barely noticeable unless you knew what to look for—the kind of pressure.
"Don't worry," Haruto said to the shivering boy, though his own heart was beating faster.
"He's not interested in me. Just stay away from the garden if it scares you that much."
Haruto walked away, but his mind was in a whirl.
Haruto reached the landing grid just as the massive transit buses began their evening cycle, casting long, golden shadows across the platform. He spotted Daisy standing near a pillar, surrounded by a group of girls.
He stopped dead in his tracks. Daisy was actually laughing. It wasn't the cold, mechanical chuckle he'd expected; it was genuine, relaxed, and startlingly human. Haruto blinked, feeling like he'd miscalibrated his own sensors. "Is that... really her?" he muttered.
As he approached, the group noticed him. The laughter died down instantly, replaced by curious, intense stares.
"Who's this, Daisy?" one of the girls asked, her eyes tracing Haruto's uniform. "And why is he hanging around? You know the rules—no boys are allowed to approach you without a formal request."
Daisy sighed, her cold, Commander-persona snapping back into place like a lockdown seal. "He's a companion. Ignore him."
"A companion?" another girl teased, nudging Daisy. "Wow, the great Commander finally decided to make a friend? And a boy, no less!"
Haruto shifted uncomfortably, recognizing two of the girls. They were the same soldiers he'd seen at the medical facility when he first woke up—the ones who served under Daisy. As he caught their gaze, one of them winked at him, a mischievous smirk on her face.
Haruto felt his face heat up. Wait a minute. She told me she had no friends, that everyone was terrified of her, and that she was a loner... so what is this?
"Oh! Wait a second," one of the soldiers said, her eyes widening as she pointed at Haruto. "I remember him! It's that guy from about a month ago—the one the Commander saved during that sector collapse!"
"The one she dragged out of the ruins?" the other girl added, laughing. "I thought he was a civilian casualty. I didn't realize he was a 'companion'!"
The group erupted into giggles and whispers, and for the first time since he met her, Haruto saw Daisy look genuinely annoyed—not at him, but at her friends for teasing her.
Daisy stood tall, her demeanor instantly shifting from the relaxed girl to the commanding officer. The group of girls, including the soldiers, straightened their postures and offered a crisp, synchronized salute.
"As your Commander, I am ordering you all back to your posts," Daisy commanded, her voice ringing with absolute authority. "Your break is over. Move."
Without a word, the girls saluted again and dispersed with military precision, leaving the platform silent once more. Daisy turned to Haruto, her expression hardening back into its usual mask of indifference. "Oh, you're back. Good. Let's talk business."
"Special recruits," she explained as they began to walk toward the main administrative wing. "Those girls are students, but they're also the elite force operating directly under my command. They don't just study here; they serve."
"I see," Haruto said, struggling to keep pace. "You've been hiding a whole platoon in plain sight."
Daisy didn't respond, leading him deep into the Academy's restricted sector. They entered a high-security office buzzing with officials in uniform. The room fell deathly silent as Daisy entered. She walked straight up to a lead official. "Is the preparation ready, as I instructed?"
"Yes, Commander," the official replied, bowing his head. "Everything is set."
The officials moved aside, bringing forward a massive, shimmering holographic interface. Daisy stepped up, and a series of complex verification protocols activated: a precise hand scan, a retinal sweep, and finally, a strand of DNA for biological validation.
Clank.
A hidden section of the wall hissed and retracted, revealing a spiral staircase leading deep into the dark, subterranean levels of the Academy. The guards bowed as Daisy stepped toward the threshold.
She paused, looking back at Haruto with a piercing gaze. "Follow me. And Haruto? Keep your curiosity in check. I'm going to show you exactly why I told you not to poke your nose into my busines—and why you might regret ever wanting to know the truth."
She descended into the darkness, the light from the upper levels fading as they sank deeper into the foundations of the facility. The air grew cold, smelling of ozone and ancient, locked-away power.
"This isn't about being a student anymore," she whispered, her voice echoing in the shaft.
"We're going to the core."