The next class was taught by an elderly man whose round belly strained against a dark gray suit, marked with a silver emblem of a snarling tiger ready to pounce.
He lectured us about the undead.
The first thing I learned—there were countless kinds of them.
"Most monsters pose little to no threat," the professor droned, pacing in front of the board. "Or the damage they cause is so minor that defenders don't even bother dealing with them."
"These include young entities that haven't taken on a defined form yet, as well as small possessed animals and insects."
"Yes, Mr…?" He glanced at the list. "Korhenger. What is it?"
"As far as I know, spirits have five stages of development. At what stage do they become dangerous?"
"You're correct," the professor nodded. "But not just spirits—all entities are divided into five stages."
"And starting from the second stage, every single one of them can be dangerous."
"Stage one: the emergence of an entity."
"This can be the ghost of a person, a strong lingering desire, or even an object that was used for a long time and then destroyed or discarded."
"Such entities usually appear as a milky-white, translucent substance—closer to smoke than anything physical."
"They cannot be exorcised. Most of them simply fade away over time."
"Stage two: the birth of consciousness."
"The entity begins to remember its life—and what's keeping it here."
"It still has no form, but becomes denser."
"These can harm the sighted by draining their energy, leading to illness or depression."
"At this stage, trained specialists deal with them. We can't harm them directly with power—but we can force them to leave."
"They may also possess small animals and insects."
"Stage three: form begins to take shape."
"The substance starts resembling a human, an animal, or something close to a living being."
"They are driven by the need to finish unfinished business. How you deal with them depends entirely on what's binding them."
"At this stage, they're dangerous to both the sighted and the blind."
"They can push people to suicide through suggestion."
"This is also where possession becomes a real threat."
"The entity convinces the victim to let it in."
"Consent," he stressed, "is everything."
"Once inside a human body, the entity must fulfill the terms of the agreement before it can take full control. Only then does it move forward."
"They're extremely difficult to deal with—and nearly impossible to handle alone."
"Fortunately, they're rare. Most hide until they complete their contract."
"Our job is to stop that—through exorcism or destruction."
"Stage four: the acquisition of flesh."
"To the blind, they remain invisible. But the sighted see them as living beings—which, in essence, they become."
"They can be physically injured. They have blood, skin, breath—and they need food and rest."
"And more importantly—they awaken their own power."
"These are what we call monsters."
"Fully formed individuals."
"If their original goal remains unfulfilled, they will do anything to achieve it."
"That goal—the reason they exist—is their chain."
"They cannot exist peacefully while bound by it."
"To eliminate a monster, entire squads are deployed—experienced defenders and future bodyguards."
"Those bodyguards are often recruited by elite graduates… or by people outside the academy."
"To be a personal bodyguard means being capable of protecting your master from anything."
He paused, catching his breath.
Some students were still writing like their lives depended on it.
Others sat stiff, frowning.
I was trying to process everything.
But more than anything—
I was surprised by what I felt.
Not fear.
Excitement.
A sharp, restless curiosity burning under my skin.
I wanted to know what my power could actually do.
"As for you… Mr—ah, Holivan."
The teacher's voice snapped me back.
"So confident you didn't even bother writing anything down?"
"Sorry, sir. I have a good memory," I said quickly, standing up.
From the side, I caught Robert barely holding back a laugh.
"Then tell me—what is the first stage called?"
"Uh… an entity?"
"Correct. Easy enough. What about the second?"
I frowned.
"I'm sorry, but you didn't name the second or third stages. You only named the fourth—monsters."
"Correct," he nodded. "The second stage is called spirits. The third—possessed."
"Sit down."
"Excuse me," I said again.
"You mentioned five stages—but only named four."
"Sit down, Holivan."
I sat.
"As for the fifth stage… demons."
"A demon is an entity that has broken its chains."
"It decides for itself how to exist—and what to do."
"They are intelligent beings capable of controlling other entities."
"Very few ever reach this stage. Fighting them is pointless."
"We'll discuss demons another time."
"Our relationship with them… is complicated."
"Complicated enough that you'll attend separate lectures on demonology later."
We left the classroom.
I glanced at my schedule.
"Only two shared lectures with the elite class today," I muttered. "Next one's separate—and then finally lunch."
"Yeah," Sol said, catching up. "Tomorrow I'm grabbing extra bread from the cafeteria."
"I always wondered why the upperclassmen stash food. Now I get it."
"Turns out studying burns energy."
"Hey, Holivan."
A voice came from behind.
I exhaled slowly.
Here we go again.
"I'm busy, so say what you want and make it quick," I said, turning.
He was big.
Not just tall—solid. Built.
Mid-to-late twenties.
On his vest—
twenty-nine badges.
"It's pretty damn rude to talk to your seniors like that," he smirked.
"So what do you want?" I asked flatly.
"I'm inviting you to a little welcome party. After dinner."
"A party?" Alma lit up, tightening her grip on my arm. "That sounds fun—I want to come too."
"I'll invite you some other time," he said without even looking at her. "This one's just for our… special newcomer."
"Not happening," Robert cut in. "I—"
"Robert, wait," I stopped him, then looked back at the senior.
"Silli, right?"
"If you went through the trouble of setting up a welcome party for me," I said with a polite smile, "it'd be rude not to show up."
"So—where is it?"
"Behind the dorms."
He looked me over slowly.
"Remember this, Holivan. That party is just for you."
Then he glanced at Alma.
"You'd be better off staying away from him."
"We'll see each other again."
He turned and walked off.
"Are you out of your mind?" Alma snapped, yanking my arm. "Do you have any idea what kind of 'party' that's going to be?"
"I know exactly," I said.
"You're the one who told me to stop hiding."
"So I'm doing exactly that."
"Come on. We've got another class."
Classification of Entities and Methods of Dealing with Them
Stage One — Entity
A milky-white substance resembling smoke.
Origin:
Forms when a powerful desire separates from a living being, from the soul of someone who died with an intense, unresolved wish, or from an object saturated with long-term emotions—something used repeatedly, then broken or discarded.
Characteristics:
Harmless to both the sighted and the blind. At most, it drains a small amount of energy from a living being, causing fatigue and drowsiness.
Handling:
Ignored. There are no effective methods of dealing with entities. Most dissipate on their own shortly after appearing.
Stage Two — Spirit
Appears similar to an entity, but denser.
Characteristics:
Develops consciousness. The spirit begins to recall its past life and what binds it to the world. It forms by absorbing sufficient energy from living beings or from concentrated emotional residue in specific locations.
Capable of harming the sighted by draining significant amounts of energy, leading to illness or depression. For the blind, as in the first stage, it causes only fatigue and drowsiness. It may also possess small animals or insects.
Handling:
Spirits are exorcised through suggestion.
A defender must channel their power through the spirit's substance. In that moment, they perceive the cause of its origin and must transmit, through that same flow of power, something that forces the spirit to calm down—dispersing it.
If a spirit has possessed an animal or insect, the host can be killed—but only using combat power.
Stage Three — Possessor
The substance takes on the shape of a living being. It may resemble a human, an animal, or something in between—whatever best serves its purpose.
Characteristics:
Feeds on the emotions of a single individual, usually a sighted one, though it may also target the blind, influencing them through voice instead of form.
Dangerous to both the sighted and the blind.
This is the stage where possession becomes a real threat. The entity manipulates its victim into allowing it inside. Consent is essential.
Once inside, it must fulfill the terms of the agreement made with the host before gaining full control. Only then does it progress further.
Handling:
Possessor usually hide until their contract is fulfilled, sometimes continuing to live an outwardly normal life within the host.
Exorcism using power is only possible within the first twenty-four hours after possession. After that, the host's soul begins to deteriorate—and is eventually erased.
During the initial period, exorcism relies on suggestion, as with spirits—but the power must be directed at the host, not the entity.
Defenders usually operate in groups of three or more, unless one possesses specialized mental abilities.
After the first day, exorcism requires a soul-retrieval ritual. This demands sustained power directed at the host and complete physical restraint.
If the host's consciousness cannot be recovered, the final measure is simple:
The Possessor is destroyed together with the host.
If the host is killed by ordinary means without the use of power, the Possessor will simply abandon the body and seek another. Destruction must always involve combat power.
Stage Four — Monster
The entity gains physical form.
Invisible to the blind, but perceived by the sighted as a fully living being—which, in essence, it becomes.
It has blood, skin, breath, and requires food and rest. It also awakens its own power.
Characteristics:
Forms when a Possessor fulfills the conditions of its contract.
These are fully developed individuals. If their original goal remains unfulfilled, they will pursue it by any means necessary.
That original purpose is their chain—the force that binds them. A monster cannot exist in peace while it remains.
Most monsters fall under the control of higher-stage entities, especially when their primary goal is impossible to achieve.
Each monster possesses a unique type of power, directly tied to the cause of its origin.
They can physically harm the sighted. While they cannot directly touch the blind, they can still cause destruction—disasters, collapses, chaos—resulting in mass death.
Handling:
Monsters can be destroyed using either power or conventional weapons—but the task is extremely difficult.
Entire squads of defenders are deployed against them.
After a successful kill, the body must be burned. Otherwise, the monster will begin its development again from the second stage—retaining all memories.
Stage Five — Demons
Highly intelligent beings capable of controlling other entities, as well as both the sighted and the blind.
Origin:
Form when an entity fully fulfills its original purpose and breaks its binding chain. At that point, it becomes completely independent and nearly invulnerable.
Most demons compete for power, often dying at the hands of other demons or monster armies.
Characteristics:
Visible even to the blind.
They typically take on human form and can live unnoticed among ordinary people.
If they conceal their power, they are extremely difficult to identify.
Handling:
At present, the Special Control Authority avoids direct confrontation with demons.
Conflicts are resolved diplomatically whenever possible.
Even a single battle with a demon can result in the deaths of hundreds of gifted individuals.
These are not just classifications.
They are survival rules.