Arkhainon Academy was an anomaly.
It stood in the heart of the Null-Zone Continent, a region painted absolute black on what remained of the world's navigation charts. The ocean here teemed with nameless monstrosities, and the storms never ended. Nothing human was supposed to survive this deep in the wasteland.
Yet, the white spires rose from the jagged rocks, pristine and untouched.
There were no supply caravans coming in. There were no transmission towers sending signals out to the few remaining safe cities. It was an island of silence in a world screaming for survival.
To any terrified scavenger looking from the coast, it was a mirage.
To Sai, it was the only place on Earth where the goddess wouldn't think to look and he could get a decent nap.
In Lecture Hall 4-B, the artificial sun streamed through the high windows, bathing the tiered seats in a calculated, optimal glow.
While the rest of the students sat with straight backs, taking diligent notes on their holographic tablets with military precision, Sai had achieved a state of near-liquid relaxation.
He slouched so low in his seat at the very back of the class that he was functionally invisible behind the broad shoulders of the guy in front of him. He carefully opened a bag of potato chips, executing the maneuver with the slow, surgical precision of a bomb disposal expert to avoid making a crinkle sound.
He popped a chip into his mouth. Soft crunch.
"Mhmm," he hummed internally, savoring the salty bliss as his eyes drifted shut.
He peeled them open a moment later and looked down at his stomach. It pressed gently against his uniform shirt, a soft, comfortable mound that hadn't existed a few years ago.
The contrast was his greatest comfort. Five years ago, he'd been just a guy on Earth, complaining about a plot hole in a novel titled Suicidal Immortal in the Ruined World, only to turn the last page and wake up screaming in this apocalyptic reality.
He had arrived just as the events of that original book concluded. His three years of relentless survival followed, using his terrifying Hax to keep the actual hero together in complete pieces. This fat was the trophy of his retirement.
Now, he was just Sai—the chubby, C-rank student with average grades, and missing memories. But he remembered being Sarius—lean, scarred, and constantly running on adrenaline and mana fumes.
"And that," the history professor, Mr. Vance, droned on, tapping a map of the continent, "is why the Reclamation Era remains the most significant military campaign in their history."
Vance spoke with a dry, clinical tone, tapping a holographic projection of the supply lines.
"However," Vance continued, adjusting his glasses, "much of the specific combat data from the 'Vanguard' unit is lost. We know of the two central figures—The Ouroboros Heart and his tactical partner—but their current whereabouts are unknown. They are considered the anomalies that gave humans this current era."
Sai stifled a yawn, reaching for another chip. He hated hearing those titles. They sounded like priceless trophies to everyone else. To him, they just sounded like memories of sleepless nights and Orion getting his head bitten off by dragons.
Needing a reality check—or perhaps just reassurance that he was still in control—Sai subconsciously tapped the air near his chest. A faint, semi-translucent blue window flickered into existence at the edge of his vision, invisible to everyone else.
[ SYSTEM INTERFACE ]
* Seed Name: The Akashic Key
* Seed Rank: Mythic
* Seed Saturation: 567,233 / 1,000,000
He stared at the numbers for a split second, dismissed the window with a mental swipe, and sank lower in his seat.
THUD.
A heavy, dull vibration rippled through the floor of the lecture hall.
It wasn't a loud explosion. It was a dense, physical impact—the kind that happened when something very strong hit something very reinforced deep underground.
The sleepy atmosphere of the class shattered. Students looked around, confused.
"Was that a quake?"
"Impossible. The foundation stabilizers are active."
"It came from the West Wing... isn't that the Seed research sector?"
Sai froze, his hand halfway into the chip bag.
His instincts—the ones forged in the fires of the Reclamation—screamed at him.
Sai squeezed his eyes shut. He shoved a chip into his mouth and chewed aggressively.
Nope, he told himself firmly. I didn't hear that. It's construction. They're renovating the lab. It is definitely not a plot hook. If I don't look at it, it doesn't exist.
CRASH!
The heavy double doors of the lecture hall were blasted off their hinges.
Wood and metal skidded across the floor.
In an instant, the atmosphere shifted from "afternoon lecture" to "combat readiness."
Mr. Vance didn't flinch. He didn't call for security. He simply adjusted his glasses, mana flaring around him, heavy and suffocating.
"Unauthorized entry," Vance stated, his voice calm but amplified by magic. "State your affiliation."
In the front row, the "Elite" students were already moving. Three of them stood up, hands glowing with fire and kinetic energy, ready to engage. They looked annoyed rather than scared.
Standing in the doorway, framed by the dust and debris of his violent entrance, was a boy.
He looked terrible. He was wearing a tattered, hospital-grade patient gown stained with blue synthetic fluid. He was barefoot, his skin pale and malnourished, hair overgrown, but the energy coming off him was unnerving.
He ignored the professor. He ignored the abilities charging up in the front row. He didn't even look at them.
He was counting.
"Row one... Row two..." the intruder whispered, his eyes darting frantically to the back of the room. "The epilogue said he sits in the blind spot..."
The boy walked forward, barefoot, stepping right past a student who had just summoned a spectral sword. The sheer casualness of it froze the room.
His gaze swept past them all and locked directly onto the darkest corner of the back row.
He spotted the chubby student hiding behind a bag of chips.
Sai stopped chewing.
No, you don't know me. Look away, Sai pleaded internally.
The intruder's face lit up. He pointed a trembling finger directly at Sai.
"FOUND YOU!" the boy shouted, his voice cracking with pure, unadulterated fanboy joy. "I KNEW YOU WERE HERE!"
The silence broke. Mr. Vance frowned, confused. Every single head turned to look at the invisible guy in the back.
"It's really you..." the boy yelled, oblivious to the fact that he was surrounded by combatants. "SARIUS!"
The name hung in the air like a curse.
Sai let out a long, defeated sigh. He looked down at his unfinished snack.
"My peaceful life," he whispered mournfully. "It didn't even last until lunch."