The moonlight poured down on the Academy like pale blood, washing the courtyard in a cold silver hue. The night was utterly silent — too silent, as if the world itself held its breath.
Kajhunomo stood in the center of the empty training ground, his breath visible in the chilled air. The ground beneath his boots was scarred with blackened cracks, the remnants of past battles fought by other cursed students who had lost control.
He swallowed hard, adjusting his gloves. His body still trembled slightly from the echoes of the voice he'd heard the night before in the dormitory. That whisper — smooth, ancient, and strangely familiar — haunted him.
Then, a low rustle came from the shadows.
Raizen emerged without sound, his black cloak gliding behind him like smoke. His golden eyes reflected the moonlight, calm but carrying the weight of storms. His aura made even the air around him distort slightly — a sign of his immense control over Negativity.
"Good," Raizen said, his tone cutting through the silence. "You're early."
Kajhunomo turned to face him, bowing slightly. "You told me this would be my first real lesson. I didn't want to waste time."
Raizen tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk ghosting across his lips. "You learn quickly. But remember—" he extended his right hand, and the torches surrounding the field suddenly extinguished with a rush of wind, "—time is not your ally. It can burn you as easily as it can teach you."
Darkness enveloped the training ground. The stars themselves seemed to dim. Kajhunomo tensed, every instinct screaming that something was wrong.
"Do you know why the world fears the dark?" Raizen asked softly.
Kajhunomo hesitated. "…Because it hides what we can't control. What we can't see."
Raizen's smirk faded. "No. The world fears the dark because it remembers what was born from it."
As he spoke, a pulse of energy radiated from his body — black waves that shimmered like oil in the air. The ground trembled beneath them. Kajhunomo's heart pounded.
"That which was born from the dark," Raizen continued, "is Negativity — the purest form of chaos. Every fear, every hatred, every regret humanity ever created… it all took shape as curses."
He took a step closer. "And you, Kajhunomo, were born with one of those curses sealed inside you."
Kajhunomo froze. "You mean the mark—?"
Raizen nodded. "That mark is not decoration. It's a lock. And tonight, we begin to open it."
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Kajhunomo's chest. The spiral-shaped mark beneath his shirt began to glow faintly — a deep crimson, pulsating like a heartbeat. Black mist started to leak from it, twisting into tendrils that licked at the ground.
He stumbled back, clutching at his chest. "It's— it's reacting on its own!"
"Good," Raizen said. His tone was disturbingly calm. "Don't resist it."
"But—!"
"Feel it. Let it move. Let it breathe."
Kajhunomo tried to steady his breathing. The darkness rising from him felt alive — like something with a mind of its own. It whispered, soft at first, then louder.
A voice echoed inside his skull.
"You can't control what you were never meant to hold…"
He gasped. The voice was cold, emotionless — yet familiar, almost comforting. His shadow stretched unnaturally across the courtyard, reaching toward Raizen's feet.
Raizen's eyes glowed faintly golden. "What do you hear?"
Kajhunomo's voice trembled. "A… voice. It says I can't control it."
"Then prove it wrong," Raizen said, his expression unreadable. "Your power is not the enemy. It's your fear that gives it shape."
The air grew heavy — suffocating. Kajhunomo's eyes darkened, the whites of them turning faintly gray. His heartbeat echoed like thunder. The shadow beneath him rose suddenly, taking on a distorted form — a humanoid shape, pitch-black and trembling, eyes glowing red.
Raizen didn't move. "Your shadow. The mirror of your Negativity."
The creature hissed, echoing Kajhunomo's own voice but filled with venom. "You can't protect anyone. You never could. You're just the boy they abandoned."
Kajhunomo froze, shaking. "No… stop…"
Raizen raised his voice sharply. "Don't run from it! Face it! That voice is your reflection — the weakness you buried!"
The shadow lunged. Kajhunomo reacted instinctively, summoning a burst of dark energy from his hand. It struck the ground in a violent arc, shaking the courtyard. But the shadow absorbed it — feeding on it — and grew stronger.
Raizen's cloak snapped in the wind. "Control! Don't attack it — command it!"
Kajhunomo's pulse raced. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to breathe. His mind filled with the whispers of the dormitory… the loneliness… the anger. Slowly, he raised his hand again, his fingers trembling.
"If this power is truly mine…" he whispered, "…then obey me."
The shadow hesitated. Its movements faltered, its glowing eyes flickering uncertainly. For the first time, Kajhunomo felt the connection — not of hostility, but of recognition.
Raizen's voice softened slightly. "Good. That's the bond. The Negativity within you responds to will, not emotion. Control is not suppression — it's understanding."
Kajhunomo opened his eyes. "Understanding…"
The shadow knelt. Slowly, its form dissolved back into smoke, returning to his body. The mark on his chest dimmed, fading into silence.
For a moment, the night was calm again.
Raizen walked closer, stopping a few feet away. "You've done well for your first attempt. Most would have lost their sanity by now."
Kajhunomo panted, sweat dripping down his forehead. "It felt like… it was alive."
Raizen's gaze hardened. "Because it is. Every curse is a consciousness, Kajhunomo. Yours… is older than you can imagine."
Kajhunomo frowned. "Older?"
Raizen turned away, looking up at the moon. "Three centuries ago, during the first era of the Cursed War, there existed a being called the Origin of Shadows. A creature born when the first human hatred took form. That being was sealed inside twelve vessels."
Kajhunomo's breath caught. "Twelve… vessels?"
Raizen nodded slowly. "You are one of them."
The revelation hit him like a blade to the chest. His legs weakened. "You mean… there are others like me?"
"Yes," Raizen said, turning back to him. "But most of them didn't survive their awakening. Only a few remain… scattered across the world."
Kajhunomo clenched his fists. "Then what's the point of this Academy? To train us… or to use us?"
Raizen's eyes narrowed. "That depends on who you ask."
A cold wind swept through the courtyard. The torches suddenly flickered back to life on their own, bathing the stone floor in flickering orange light.
Kajhunomo looked down at his shadow — but it didn't move.
For a second, he felt relief.
Then, from the very edge of the courtyard, another shadow stirred. It wasn't his.
Raizen immediately raised his hand, forming a glowing sigil in midair. "Stay back!"
The darkness twisted violently, forming a tall, humanoid figure — its presence suffocating. Its voice was deep, ancient, and filled with contempt.
"So… the seal weakens again."
Kajhunomo staggered back, his heart pounding. "Who— what is that!?"
Raizen didn't answer. His jaw clenched as he summoned a blade of pure Negativity from his palm — a weapon forged from darkness itself.
"Kajhunomo, listen carefully. Do not move."
The figure tilted its head, its form flickering like a dying flame.
"You've taught him well, Raizen… but the boy's fate is sealed. No matter how hard you train him, the Negativity will claim him."
Raizen's expression darkened. "You speak as if you know his destiny."
The figure let out a low, rumbling laugh. "I do. Because I am the one who wrote it."
The ground cracked beneath Kajhunomo's feet. Pain shot through his mark again, brighter than ever. He fell to one knee, screaming.
Raizen's eyes widened. "Damn it—!"
He slammed his blade into the ground, releasing a wave of light that shattered the shadow figure into smoke. The darkness dispersed, but the echo of the entity's voice lingered.
"When he awakens… I will return."
Silence.
The torches steadied. The air became still once more.
Kajhunomo lay on the ground, trembling. "Wh-what was that…?"
Raizen sheathed his blade, his voice low. "A remnant. A memory of the first curse — testing you."
He looked at Kajhunomo with a mixture of pride and sorrow. "It seems your awakening has already begun."
Kajhunomo forced himself to his feet, his eyes glowing faintly with a crimson shimmer. "Then I'll face it. No matter what's sealed inside me."
Raizen turned away, his expression unreadable. "Brave words… but remember, courage without control is suicide."
He started walking toward the Academy gates. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, your second lesson begins."
Kajhunomo stood alone beneath the moonlight, his shadow stretching long behind him — and for a split second, it smiled back.
---