The rain had not stopped since Kajhunomo arrived at the Academy.
It drummed endlessly against the tall arched windows, a low and constant rhythm that made the entire dormitory feel alive — as if the building itself breathed in the storm.
His new room was small, but not unpleasant: a narrow bed pressed against the wall, a desk with an ancient-looking lamp, and a wardrobe whose wood smelled faintly of iron and dust. The faint glow of runes embedded in the ceiling flickered like heartbeat pulses.
Kajhunomo sat by the window, eyes tracing the path of the droplets. Each one fell, merged, vanished — just like his thoughts.
He hadn't slept properly since the trial. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw them: shapes moving inside the dark void, faces without eyes, hands stretching toward him. But worse than the visions were the whispers — faint, fragmented, like a radio tuned between two stations.
> "Kajhunomo…"
"You saw… what you are…"
"Don't… resist…"
Each word carried a chill, as if the air itself spoke in his ear.
He tried to ignore it. He tried to breathe. But the silence that followed always felt heavier than the voice.
---
The Morning Call
The next morning came too quickly.
A bell echoed through the dorm — deep, resonant, vibrating through the walls. Kajhunomo flinched awake, drenched in sweat.
He looked at the clock on the wall. 05:00 AM.
Someone banged on his door.
> "Newblood! Up!"
The voice was sharp, young — impatient. Kajhunomo opened the door to find a tall boy with dark red hair and pale gray eyes leaning against the frame. He wore the same academy uniform Kajhunomo had been given: black coat with silver lining, a sigil over the heart that glowed faintly when touched by light.
> "You're the new curse-bearer, right? The one Raven brought in?"
Kajhunomo nodded. "Yeah… I think so."
The boy smirked. "Figures. You've got that haunted look. Come on, introductions start in the Hall."
Kajhunomo hesitated. "Who are you?"
> "Name's Rei. Second-year. Don't fall behind — or the instructors will make you regret it."
He turned and walked off. Kajhunomo followed, his footsteps echoing on the cold stone floors.
---
The Hall of Echoes
The Hall was enormous — a cathedral within a cathedral. Dozens of trainees in dark uniforms stood in rows before a raised platform. Candles burned in suspended rings above, casting soft gold light that danced across their masks and shadows.
At the front stood Raven, hands clasped behind his back. His presence alone silenced the crowd.
> "Students," Raven began, voice calm but edged with authority, "you are here because the world outside cannot hold what you carry. You are the cursed, the chosen, the broken — and therefore, the necessary."
Kajhunomo felt every word settle in his chest like lead.
> "Here, you will learn control. You will learn survival. And perhaps, in time, purpose."
He turned his gaze directly toward Kajhunomo — sharp and unblinking.
> "But know this: power without discipline is death. The curse within you hungers for despair. Feed it carelessly, and it will devour your soul."
The hall remained silent, save for the crackling of candles.
> "You will be assigned dorm partners and teams for your first phase of training — Shadow Integration. Fail it, and you leave the Academy. Permanently."
A shiver went through the students.
Raven raised his hand, and several instructors stepped forward with glowing scrolls.
> "Rei Takane. Room 9B."
"Mira Nox. Room 9B."
"Kajhunomo Asahi. Room 9B."
Kajhunomo blinked. "Wait — roommates?"
Rei grinned. "Lucky you. I hope you don't talk in your sleep."
---
Room 9B
By noon, Kajhunomo had met his third roommate — a girl named Mira Nox, quiet and observant. She wore her uniform neatly, but her hands were always wrapped in black bandages. Her hair was silver-white, her eyes a deep violet that shimmered faintly, as if reflecting unseen flames.
> "So you're the new Vessel," she said flatly when they met. "The Negativity one."
Kajhunomo frowned. "I… guess?"
She studied him a long moment. "Don't guess. Either you are, or you're not."
Rei laughed from his bed. "Mira likes to test people. Don't take it personally."
> "You shouldn't be here," Mira continued, ignoring Rei. "The last Vessel lost control in less than a week. The walls of the west tower still bleed because of him."
Kajhunomo felt a chill crawl up his spine. "I didn't ask to be this."
Mira tilted her head slightly. "None of us did."
The air between them grew tense. Rei sighed and tossed a pillow at Mira.
> "Enough ghost stories. Let the poor guy breathe."
Mira caught the pillow midair and dropped it silently. "You'll understand soon enough," she murmured, returning to her corner.
---
Nightfall Whispers
That night, the storm worsened.
Thunder rumbled above the academy's towers. The runes flickered. Shadows seemed longer.
Kajhunomo lay in bed, staring at the ceiling again. Rei snored softly across the room, and Mira sat by the window reading from a thick black book inscribed with runes that moved when he blinked.
Sleep wouldn't come. His heartbeat felt uneven — too fast, too heavy.
Then he heard it again.
That whisper.
> "...omo…"
"You can't… ignore me…"
"Why… pretend to be human…"
Kajhunomo sat up sharply. His breath misted in the cold air.
> "Who's there?" he hissed.
Mira looked up from her book. "What's wrong?"
Kajhunomo swallowed. "You didn't hear that?"
She frowned. "Hear what?"
The voice came again — this time, closer.
> "Behind… you…"
Kajhunomo turned, heart pounding — but nothing. Just the dim glow of runes on the walls.
He pressed his palms against his ears. The voice slipped through anyway, soft as silk, sharp as knives.
> "You'll break soon. And when you do… I'll be free."
He gasped, clutching his chest. The mark on his hand burned faintly through the bandages.
Mira's eyes narrowed. "You're hearing it, aren't you?"
Kajhunomo looked at her in panic. "You know about it?"
She closed her book slowly. "Everyone here hears something. But yours — yours sounds older."
> "Older?"
"Like a curse with memory," she said. "Most of us deal with echoes — leftover pain. But the Negativity Curse… it talks back."
Kajhunomo exhaled shakily. "Then how do I shut it out?"
Mira's violet eyes softened for the first time. "You don't. You listen. The curse feeds on fear. Silence it, and it grows louder. Acknowledge it, and it begins to understand you."
Kajhunomo hesitated. "Understand me?"
She nodded. "Darkness doesn't want to be denied — it wants to be known."
---
The Intrusion
A loud knock broke the tension. The door creaked open, revealing Raven, drenched from the rain but calm as ever.
> "All of you. Dress. Training begins now."
Rei groaned. "It's midnight, sir."
> "Precisely," Raven said. "The curse doesn't rest. Neither should you."
Minutes later, they followed him through dim corridors lit only by blue runes. The deeper they went, the colder the air became.
They reached a vast underground chamber — the Hall of Mirrors. Dozens of tall, cracked mirrors lined the walls. Each one shimmered faintly with dark mist.
Raven faced them.
> "This exercise will determine your synchronization rate with your curse. Stand before a mirror. Look into it — and don't look away."
Kajhunomo stepped before one. His reflection was pale, eyes shadowed, but otherwise normal.
Then the mirror moved.
His reflection blinked — but he hadn't.
> "Show me your truth," Raven's voice echoed through the hall.
Kajhunomo's reflection smiled — wrong, wide, inhuman. Its eyes turned completely black.
> "You can't hide me forever…" it whispered through the glass.
He stumbled back. "What—"
The reflection pressed its hand against the mirror — and the surface rippled like water. A hand shot out, cold and solid, grabbing his wrist.
> "Kajhunomo!" Rei shouted.
But Kajhunomo couldn't move. The mark on his hand burned, reacting to the pull. The darkness within him stirred like a beast sensing freedom.
He screamed. The glass shattered outward, shards flying — yet not one cut him. Instead, the black smoke from the broken mirror wrapped around him, crawling beneath his skin.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then — a pulse.
The runes on the floor flared crimson.
Kajhunomo's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly with dark light. His voice, when it came, wasn't entirely his.
> "I'm not… afraid of you."
The shadow within him paused — as if startled. Then it withdrew, retreating like a tide. The light dimmed.
He fell to his knees, trembling.
Raven approached, calm but wary.
> "You resisted a full manifestation. Impressive."
Kajhunomo looked up weakly. "What was that?"
> "A reflection test," Raven said. "To see if you're truly you. For now… you are."
---
Aftermath
Hours later, Kajhunomo sat again in his dorm, staring at his reflection in the small mirror by his bed. His eyes looked the same — yet not.
He could still hear the faintest whisper, soft and distant.
> "You think this is over…?"
He exhaled. "No," he whispered back. "But I'm still here."
The mark on his hand pulsed once, faintly — almost approvingly.
Outside, the storm eased.
For the first time since arriving, Kajhunomo allowed his eyes to close. Sleep found him slowly — not as an escape, but as surrender to a new reality.
Far below the dorms, in a sealed chamber lit by black fire, Raven stood before a crystal sphere. Inside, faint images flickered — Kajhunomo's trial, his reflection, his glow.
> "He's stable," said Mira's voice behind him.
Raven nodded. "For now. But the curse adapts faster than expected. If he falters once—"
> "The Negativity will awaken," Mira finished softly.
Raven's gaze darkened. "And when it does… even the gods won't be able to stop it."
---