I was still dying.
But differently this time.
My KA was trying to rebuild me, forcing flesh and bone back together in uneven waves, yet something was missing from the process. Some piece of the puzzle refused to connect.
I couldn't understand it.
Couldn't even identify what was wrong.
But at least—
I could see again.
My vision was unstable, flickering beneath the overwhelming pressure inside my body, but it was enough.
Enough to see that the man I had nearly killed earlier was somehow still alive.
Barely.
He looked like someone gripping life by the throat, refusing to let go no matter how broken his body had become.
Then someone stepped between us.
A man.
Two others stood farther behind him at a distance, observing silently, while nearby a woman floated close to Kamigari's burned body, her expression unreadable as she examined what remained.
But my attention stayed on the man in front of me.
He was tall.
Not overwhelmingly muscular, yet his presence alone felt heavy enough to distort the air around him.
His grey hair rose in sharp spikes, almost like a crown resting naturally upon his head.
And his eyes—
At first I thought they were completely white.
Then I noticed the pupils.
Faint.
Nearly invisible unless he focused directly on something.
He wore loose beach clothes—light sandals, relaxed trousers, and an open shirt shifting slightly with the wind.
The kind of outfit someone wore on a day off.
Which somehow made him even more unsettling.
Like someone had interrupted his rest and casually sent him into a disaster beyond human understanding.
"So one really can't have a day off at all…"
He spoke calmly, almost seriously, though his expression barely changed.
His pale eyes shifted between me and Kamigari's burned body.
"…Looks like these two awakened their innate Arts rather quickly," he concluded, genuine surprise slipping into his otherwise relaxed tone.
Okimoto folded his arms slightly, still observing the ruined battlefield around us.
"The entire process feels more like a test," he said quietly. "But it doesn't make sense."
Kazumo nodded in agreement.
Then both men addressed the grey-haired figure directly.
"HARU AKIRA."
My thoughts froze for a moment.
Even in my condition, I recognized the name instantly.
Kamigari had spoken about him before.
A Special Grade.
Not just powerful—
monstrous.
She had once speculated that if the Commission learned about the Seraphim incident early enough, they would immediately deploy multiple A-rank Executioners.
Yet instead—
they had sent him.
Akira glanced toward me again, studying me more carefully this time.
Then he sighed lightly.
"Well, we arrived too late to properly watch the fight…" he muttered. "But I'll have silver hair join my mentees."
Silence followed immediately.
Then—
"Why?"
Tsumugi's voice cut through the silence without hesitation.
She looked genuinely confused now.
Which somehow made the question heavier.
Because HARU AKIRA almost never accepted students.
Even among the few he already trained, he had personally selected only one himself.
He had even refused to mentor members of his own clan despite direct requests from the Commission.
So why—
Why choose me instantly?
Akira scratched the back of his head lazily before answering.
"…Because," he said simply, "if he survives this, he'll either become something extraordinary…"
His pale eyes focused fully on me now.
"…or something humanity won't be able to stop."
"She is Kamiguri," Tsumugi said quietly, shifting everyone's attention toward the burned girl lying nearby.
Akira glanced at her for a moment before sighing lightly.
"…Well then," he said calmly, turning away. "We should head to HANZU."
HANZU TECHTime: UNKNOWN
I had passed out the moment I realized HARU AKIRA was actually at the site.
After that—
nothing.
No dreams.
No memories.
Just darkness.
Then awareness slowly returned.
My body felt… repaired.
Not fully healed, but stable enough to move. The pain lingering deep inside me was faint now—present, but manageable.
I opened my eyes.
I was submerged in pitch-black water.
Not cold.
Not warm.
Just… endless.
The darkness around me stretched infinitely in every direction, yet somehow I could still see myself beneath the surface.
Then I felt a hand rest on my shoulder.
Instantly—
my consciousness was ripped backward.
Like my soul had been dragged through my own body.
The black water shattered around me.
My entire frame jerked violently as air rushed into my lungs.
"…Is he the one Akira chose?"
The voice was deep and composed.
My vision cleared slowly.
I was no longer in the water.
Instead, I found myself lying along the polished wooden floor of a long traditional Japanese hallway illuminated by warm lantern light. Smooth cedar pillars lined the corridor while partially opened shōji doors revealed a quiet courtyard outside where rain tapped softly against stone pathways.
The air smelled faintly of incense and aged wood.
A man dressed in a dark Montsuki Hakama stood nearby, his posture straight and refined, carrying the quiet weight of someone long accustomed to authority.
Beside him stood a young woman.
"Yes," she replied calmly.
The man studied me silently for a moment before exhaling softly.
"…Then I suppose Akira saw a fire buried deep within you," he said. "Though that man remains a complete idiot."
His gaze shifted fully onto me now.
"Your name is Yuka Kurosaki."
He didn't pause.
His voice was steady, almost procedural.
"I am the Overseer. I'll be the one introducing you to the environment, at least in theory."
His eyes briefly scanned me as if confirming I was still coherent enough to listen.
"This place is the main base of operations. Off the books, obviously. Kamiguri might have explained parts of it already, so for now, stick to what you know."
He shifted his stance slightly.
"You won't be able to believe most of what you've seen until you're deemed stable—physically and physiologically. Until then, you're under basic training protocol."
A short pause.
"Truth be told, this is standard procedure for all newcomers. I'm sure the effects are already wearing off."
His tone softened only slightly.
"Your family is fine. We informed them you're enrolling here."
At that, something tightened in my chest.
I remembered then—
I hadn't made it home.
He continued before I could speak.
"They've been told you'll be staying here for the foreseeable future. Almost fully."
Then, after a brief glance away—
"Akira will be financially supporting both you and them until you're self-sufficient."
There was a weight in that statement that felt less like kindness and more like structure—something already decided.
I hesitated.
Then asked anyway.
"Can I see Kamiguri?"
Silence.
A long one.
The Overseer let out a slow sound, somewhere between disbelief and warning.
"…Hhhhhhh."
That reaction alone told me enough.
When he spoke again, his voice was flatter.
"She is with her family. Her whereabouts are strictly theirs—and theirs alone."
The message was clear without being said directly.
There were layers here.
Hierarchy.
Boundaries.
Things I wasn't meant to cross yet.
"When you feel ready, you'll meet the two of Akira's mentees currently stationed here," the Overseer said calmly. "One of them will be paired with you. He checked in about a month ago."
A woman in a traditional kimono stepped in beside him.
"Sir, the transport is ready. We must depart."
The Overseer gave a small nod, then glanced back at me one last time.
"Well… I'll see you again, if you live long enough."
Then he turned away.
But he didn't walk.
The corridor shifted.
The space itself stretched and reformed like a moving structure, and in an instant he was gone—swallowed by the architecture of the facility.
I was alone.
In a complex, shifting maze that now felt less like a hallway and more like a controlled prison built out of endless space.
"Yuka… that you?"
A voice called out from somewhere ahead.
"…It's RAIMEI!"
I turned slightly.
He approached quickly.
Spiky hair, almost like Gaku's, but lighter in presence. His expression carried something I hadn't seen much lately—ease. Natural warmth. The kind of person who didn't seem weighed down by anything yet.
He felt… normal.
Too normal.
Which made him stand out even more in a place like this.
Then I noticed them behind him.
HARU AKIRA.
Walking slowly through the corridor, speaking casually with a man who bore a faint resemblance to him.
Even at a distance, his presence felt layered—like the air around him refused to settle properly.
My attention locked onto him immediately.
And then he spoke.
"First," Akira said calmly, without even looking fully at me yet, "we need to make you able to see, feel, touch, produce, and manipulate your KA at will."
He paused slightly.
"…And we're doing it my way."
Silence followed.
Not the comfortable kind.
The kind that meant something was already in motion.
I didn't understand what he meant.
Not fully.
But I could feel it.
This wasn't a suggestion.
It was the beginning.
Raimei stood beside me quietly now, his expression slightly tightened.
Not afraid.
But aware.
Which told me everything I needed to know.
He had either been through it.
Or knew exactly what was about to happen