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The silence didn't last long.
The old man was the first to speak, his voice gruff and filled with clear irritation.
"Emma," he said, his sharp gaze shifting toward her, "are you sure what you saw was accurate? This child seems far too weak to have taken those people out."
His eyes flicked back to Rio, filled with open doubt.
Emma didn't even bother looking at him.
"Tch. Idiot," she replied flatly. "Check the records yourself if you doubt me."
Her gaze never left Rio.
Sharp.
Unwavering.
Watching.
Rio felt his chest tighten.
Shit.
The word hit him instantly.
I forgot… I didn't delete the records.
His throat went dry.
They know.
His eyes instinctively shifted toward Elara.
She hadn't moved.
Her expression remained calm, unreadable, her cold blue eyes fixed on him as if nothing had changed.
That was worse.
Far worse.
Because it meant she already knew.
The blonde-haired man suddenly spoke, his tone light, almost amused.
"Interesting."
Before Rio could react—
He was there.
Right in front of him.
Rio's eyes widened.
What—
He hadn't seen him move.
Not even a blur.
Nothing.
Just—
There.
The man tilted his head slightly, the faint smile still on his lips.
"Child," he said casually, "have you undergone a mana affinity and core evaluation?"
Rio froze for a fraction of a second.
His mind instinctively searched through the inherited memories.
Rio Valen.
Before everything.
Before the experiments.
Before the lab.
He had been—
Useless.
No affinity.
An E-rank mana core.
A complete disappointment.
"Y-yes…" Rio replied, forcing his voice steady. "I'm… affinity-less."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
A faint surge of pressure filled the room.
"Hah."
Emma let out a short, cold laugh as a purple aura flickered subtly around her.
"Don't lie to us, boy."
Her voice sharpened.
"I saw exactly what happened inside that facility."
Rio's stomach dropped.
S-shit…
There was no escaping it.
No way to twist it.
No way to hide.
Then—
A voice cut through the room.
"Enough."
The word didn't need to be loud.
But it carried weight.
Elara.
A faint pressure radiated from her—controlled, but undeniable. It filled the room instantly, forcing everything else into the background.
Even Emma fell silent.
The blonde haired man only smiled wider before stepping back slowly, as if he had been expecting that.
"Elara spoke again, her voice calm but absolute.
"Emma. Leon. Ogram."
The three of them stilled.
"Leave."
No hesitation.
No argument.
"I only want the child here."
A brief pause.
"And tell Lyra to bring an affinity sphere."
Her eyes returned to Rio.
Sharper now.
Focused.
The blond man—Leon—raised his hands slightly in mock surrender, grinning.
"Yes, yes, boss."
The old man—Ogram—clicked his tongue but turned without another word.
Emma lingered for half a second longer, her gaze still locked onto Rio.
Then she turned and left.
The door closed behind them.
Silence returned.
But this time—
It felt heavier.
Rio stood there, his body still, his mind racing.
This is bad.
Very bad.
A few moments later, the door opened again.
Lyra stepped in, holding a small crystalline sphere in her hand.
She paused when she noticed the atmosphere, then walked forward, placing it on the table between Rio and Elara.
"The affinity sphere," she said quietly.
Elara nodded once.
Then—
"Come forward."
Rio's body moved before he could fully process it.
Step by step, he approached the table.
The sphere sat there, perfectly still.
Clear.
Empty.
Waiting.
"Place your hand on it."
Rio swallowed.
…Fuck.
There was no point resisting.
Slowly, he extended his hand.
And placed it on the sphere.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
The sphere remained dull.
Grey.
Unresponsive.
Lyra frowned slightly.
"Affinity-less…?"
Elara's gaze didn't change.
But then—
The sphere reacted.
Light burst from within.
Not one color.
Multiple.
Fire.
Water.
Ice.
Lightning.
Darkness.
Light.
Each one layered over the other, shifting, blending, clashing.
Lyra's breath caught.
"…What?"
Even Elara's eyes narrowed slightly.
But it didn't stop there.
The colors twisted.
Collapsed.
And then—
Something new appeared.
A color that wasn't a color.
Deep.
Vast.
Like a fragment of the night sky itself.
Stars flickered within it.
Space.
Lyra staggered back slightly.
"E-even… space…?"
Her voice trembled.
That wasn't normal.
That wasn't rare.
That was—
Impossible.
Humans were born with a single affinity.
That was the rule.
At most—
In extremely rare cases—
Two.
And those individuals were already considered monsters.
But this—
This was something that had never existed before.
And then—
Space.
There had only ever been one known user in history.
Aurelia Lioren.
The Headmistress of Nexus Academy.
Elara's expression shifted for the first time.
Not shock.
But something close.
She quickly composed herself.
"Lyra."
Her voice was calm again.
"Bring the mana core sphere."
Lyra snapped out of her daze and nodded quickly before leaving.
Rio stood frozen.
I… have all affinities?
The thought didn't feel real.
And that last one—
Space…?
His mind struggled to process it.
Moments later, Lyra returned, holding another sphere—this one darker, heavier in presence.
She placed it down.
Elara looked at him.
"Place your hand on it."
Rio hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Then obeyed.
His hand touched the sphere.
The room went silent.
For a moment—
Nothing.
Then—
The sphere began to glow.
Not green.
Not blue.
Not purple.
Not red.
Not white.
Not black.
Not even gold.
Grey.
A dull, muted grey.
The light spread slowly through the sphere, stabilizing into a steady, unnatural color.
Lyra frowned deeply.
"…Grey?"
Ogram wasn't there.
Emma wasn't there.
But even without them—
The question lingered.
What rank was that?
It didn't exist.
Rio's mind went completely still.
Then—
A memory surfaced.
Sharp.
Clear.
Samuel.
The protagonist.
There had been a moment.
Much later in the story.
After a major turning point—
His core had evolved.
From SS—
To something beyond.
SSS.
And for a brief moment—
It had turned grey.
Rio's breath caught.
That color…
That's not a rank…
That's something beyond the system.
His fingers tightened slightly against the sphere.
How…
How the hell do I have this?
The room remained silent.
But this time—
It wasn't just tension.
It was something else.
Something deeper.
Something dangerous.
Because whatever stood in front of them—
Wasn't something the world had ever seen before.
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[End of Chapter 8]
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