Director Cyrus quickly composed himself and took the microphone.
"Good morning, everyone!" he said in a firm voice. "My name is Theo Cyrus. I will be your director for the next five years."
"So you'd better behave… and learn to control yourselves."
His gaze shifted slightly.
Straight toward me.
I felt the blow.
I lowered my head instantly and covered my face, trying to disappear.
The shame burned inside me.
So much… that I didn't even feel like narrating what was happening.
But well…
you can't expect much from a teenager.
After all, the only things we have in abundance are immaturity… and an absurd amount of mistakes.
Some of the players started mocking me.
Stifled laughter.
Whispers.
Looks full of contempt.
To them, I was nothing more than an idiot.
An ignorant fool who didn't even know where he stood.
But the truth… was different.
I had only greeted Director Cyrus because I already knew him.
I had formed a bond with him, even if it was in another timeline.
Seeing him there, alive…
It was strange.
And somehow, comforting.
At the end of the day…
I was just a teenager.
A broken one.
One who had lost too much.
The red-haired girl who had helped me earlier watched me from a distance, her brow slightly furrowed.
Worried.
…
Clap!
The sound of two sharp claps echoed through the hall.
Director Cyrus had just tapped the microphone.
The murmuring stopped immediately.
All eyes turned to him.
"Alright," he began. "Everyone here knows how the world was on the brink of destruction when the first portals appeared… four years ago."
An uncomfortable silence swept through the room.
Some exchanged glances.
Others lowered their heads.
And a few… simply remained still.
Everyone understood what that meant.
That day…
changed everything.
Entire families were destroyed.
Parents.
Children.
Friends.
Many had lost someone when the portals opened across the world.
The director paused briefly.
"That day is known as… the Day of the Black Rift."
His voice grew heavier.
"And also… as the day many of us awakened."
He extended his right hand.
A white light emerged from his palm.
Cold.
Brilliant.
In seconds, the energy took shape…
turning into a layer of frost that covered his hand.
Ice.
Pure.
Controlled.
"To protect humanity," he continued. "To prevent a tragedy like that from happening again…"
He clenched his fist slightly, making the ice crack.
"There is only one option."
His eyes swept over everyone present.
"Close the portals."
A brief pause.
"And that is achieved… by killing the monsters that emerge from them."
Director Cyrus closed his fist completely.
The frost shattered.
…
The atmosphere shifted.
Most of the players wore determined expressions. Their eyes gleamed with resolve, all clinging to the same idea:
Kill the monsters.
No matter the cost.
"Yes!"
"We'll end them!"
"We won't let it happen again!"
Voices began to rise.
One after another.
Until they became a chorus.
"Kill the monsters!"
"Kill the monsters!"
The fervor spread like wildfire.
But…
there was someone who didn't share that feeling.
Me.
My expression was different.
Cold.
Dark.
My eyes burned with a disturbing intensity.
"Kill the gods…" I murmured.
My voice was low.
But firm.
"Kill the gods…"
I clenched my teeth.
Rage boiled inside me, consuming everything.
"Kill the gods!"
My fingers tightened until my knuckles cracked.
…
"I… am going to kill all those bastards," I whispered.
The red-haired girl observed my expression.
Her eyes lingered on me a few seconds longer than normal.
"Wow…" she thought. "That guy really hates monsters."
She looked away slightly.
"Though… I guess it's not strange. We all feel the same."
…
When Director Cyrus finished his speech, the newly awakened applauded in unison.
The sound filled the entire hall.
…
After the welcome ceremony, I was called to the director's office.
I signed several documents that officially formalized my enrollment in the academy.
The atmosphere was… uncomfortable.
"Sorry about earlier, sir," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "I didn't mean to…"
Director Cyrus didn't respond immediately.
He stayed silent.
Observing me.
That silence stretched longer than I would have liked.
Until he finally spoke:
"Young Sullivan," he said in a firm voice, "in this academy we value determination and commitment…"
He paused briefly.
"Not incompetent clowns."
I swallowed hard.
"Tell me," he continued. "Are you willing to behave like a decent student?"
I straightened my back.
"Yes, sir Cyrus," I replied.
I looked up with resolve.
"I'll do my best."
The director watched me for a few more seconds.
And then…
he offered a faint smile.
After that, I was assigned a dormitory.
It was simple, but clean.
Enough.
Without wasting time, I went straight to the bathroom and turned on the shower.
Hot water cascaded over my body, washing away the fatigue… but not my thoughts.
"I still don't understand…" I murmured. "Why did Goddess Thenna have to kill me to send me back to the past?"
I closed my eyes.
Trying to organize my thoughts.
Then, a memory surfaced.
Paulin.
"Wait…" I raised an eyebrow. "Paulin told me about this…"
Yes.
I remembered.
The difference between two types of magic.
Physical magic… and spiritual magic.
…
Physical magic.
It was the most common.
The kind of power that could manifest in the real world. Visible. Tangible.
It could be touched.
Used as a weapon.
Like Director Cyrus's frost.
The human body was linked to something known as the "physical barrier."
Thanks to it, humans could perceive, manipulate, and study magic directly.
…
But spiritual magic…
was something else entirely.
Completely different.
Beyond the physical.
Beyond the tangible.
It was tied to the soul itself.
It couldn't be touched.
It couldn't be perceived with normal senses.
But it could be destroyed.
Or manipulated…
by those with enough power.
In the future, very few humans were capable of using that kind of magic.
Too complex.
Too dangerous.
That's why…
only the Outer Gods mastered that plane.
They were the only ones capable of interacting with both barriers.
Of breaking them.
Of shaping them.
Thenna…
was proof of that.
She had used her stellar magic to manipulate both the physical and spiritual barriers.
And send me to the past.
I opened my eyes slowly.
"But that… doesn't make sense," I murmured.
In theory, something like that should be impossible.
Altering both barriers and affecting the flow of time…
shouldn't be viable.
And yet…
she did it.
I remembered a phrase.
An old saying.
Attributed to the God of War, Kass:
"Nothing is impossible for a god."
I let out a short, humorless laugh.
"I guess that explains everything…"
But that implied something more.
Something important.
My current body…
wasn't the original.
Thenna hadn't just sent me back in time.
She had rebuilt me.
From scratch.
My physical part.
My spiritual part.
And…
part of her own power.
An impossible combination.
An experiment.
A weapon.
I looked down at my hands as the water continued to fall.
"So…" I whispered. "This is the true gift of a goddess…"
My fingers slowly closed.
"A power I still don't understand."
I turned off the shower.
The sound of water vanished, leaving a strange silence in the room.
I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist before stepping out of the bathroom.
Steam still floated in the air, slightly clouding my vision.
I took a few steps, ready to sit down… but something stopped me.
I frowned.
There was someone else.
My body tensed immediately.
I moved cautiously, trying to locate them, until I finally understood.
It was me.
A reflection.
An unfamiliar object… a mirror.
I approached slowly. The surface was fogged up, so I wiped it with my hand.
And then I saw myself.
A boy of about sixteen.
Slim build.
Pale skin.
Dark green hair.
Eyes… red.
I stayed silent, observing every detail.
As if I were looking at a complete stranger.
"So… this is my new appearance," I murmured.
I stepped back.
Then I let myself fall onto the bed.
The mattress gave way under my weight.
I rolled from side to side, feeling the softness, almost unable to believe it.
It was… comfortable.
Too comfortable.
I let out a long sigh.
And without realizing it, I smiled.
A small smile.
But real.
It had been so long…
Since I had eaten properly.
Since I had taken a proper shower.
Since anyone had treated me like a person.
Like a human being.
But the smile didn't last.
It faded.
A knot formed in my throat.
And then…
I cried.
In silence.
Unable to stop.
The tears began to fall, one after another, sliding down my face.
I curled up against the pillow, clinging to it as if it were the only thing I had.
And like that…
I stayed there all night.