Silence fell inside the hall.
A heavy silence.
> "You are not from this world..."
>
Eldar's words kept echoing through the space.
As for Kim...
His expression didn't change.
He showed no shock.
No fear.
No tension.
Instead, he looked back at Eldar calmly.
A calmness that made the old elder smile.
> "Just as I expected."
>
Then he turned toward the window once more.
> "Any other student would have frozen."
>
> "Or denied it instantly."
>
> "Or asked how I found out."
>
He turned back to him.
> "But you..."
>
> "You immediately began to calculate exactly how much I know."
>
Silence fell.
As for Kim...
He let out a faint smile.
Because the man before him was no fool.
And that meant an ordinary lie would not work.
But the absolute truth wasn't an option either.
In his old world...
There was a simple law.
> *The best lie...*
>
> *Is a partial truth.*
>
Therefore, he finally spoke.
> "And what if I am not from this world?"
>
Eldar didn't answer directly.
Instead, he extended his hand into the air.
An ancient magic circle materialized.
Then, an image appeared.
A torn sky.
A colossal rift.
Hordes of terrifying creatures.
And a war.
A war that shook the entire world.
Then the image vanished.
And Eldar said:
> "One thousand two hundred years ago..."
>
> "Someone like you appeared."
>
Kim's eyes froze for a fraction of a second.
But it was enough.
Eldar noticed it.
> "So you understand."
>
Then he continued.
> "He wasn't from this world."
>
> "He wasn't a mage."
>
> "And he wasn't entirely human."
>
> "Yet he altered history."
>
He took a step closer to Kim.
> "Then he vanished."
>
Silence fell.
Meanwhile, Kim's mind...
Began connecting the pieces of information.
Someone who crossed between worlds.
One thousand two hundred years ago.
So the voice he had heard in the sanctuary...
> "We are not the first to cross..."
>
It wasn't a lie.
Not at all.
Suddenly...
Eldar smiled.
> "Do not worry."
>
> "If I wanted to hand you over or expose you, I would have done so from the very beginning."
>
Kim's eyes narrowed.
This time, it felt genuine.
Eldar didn't seem like an enemy.
But he wasn't an ally either.
Instead, he was something far more dangerous.
Someone who observes.
And waits.
Then, the elder sat back down in his chair.
He pulled out a small box.
An ancient black box.
He placed it on the table.
> "This is your official reward."
>
Kim frowned.
> "A reward?"
>
Eldar smiled.
> "If I were to announce what you discovered in the sanctuary..."
>
> "A war would erupt among the High Families just to seize you."
>
> "So, we will say you only found this."
>
He gestured toward the box.
> "A gift from the Academy."
>
Kim understood instantly.
Eldar was trying to cover it up.
And for some reason...
He was protecting him.
He opened the box slowly.
Then...
He froze.
Inside the box...
Lay a simple silver ring.
But the important thing wasn't its appearance.
It was the sensation emanating from it.
An ancient sensation.
Incredibly ancient.
Similar to...
The black sea of nothingness.
Kim's eyes widened for the very first time.
As for Eldar...
He noticed it.
Then he said quietly:
> "I know."
>
> "I looked at it the exact same way."
>
Silence fell.
Then he added:
> "Because it doesn't belong to this world either."
>
BOOM!
It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded inside Kim's mind.
Someone who crossed one thousand two hundred years ago.
A sanctuary bound to ancient secrets.
And now...
Another artifact from beyond this world.
The picture was beginning to change.
What he had assumed to be a simple new world...
Might be connected to a far deeper history.
Then Eldar stood up.
He walked toward the door.
Before leaving...
He paused.
And uttered a single sentence.
A sentence that made Kim's heart ease for a moment...
Before making him more cautious than ever before.
> "Do not worry, Kim."
>
> "There are things in this world..."
>
> "That want you dead."
>
He flashed a strange smile.
> "But they don't know you've arrived yet."
>
Then he departed.
And Kim was left alone.
Staring at the ring.
The moment he touched it...
A voice resonated inside his mind.
The voice of an unknown woman.
Calm.
And sorrowful.
She said:
> "If you can hear me..."
>
> "It means I have failed."
>
> *"Some messages...
>
Take a thousand years just to reach their recipient."*