Damian’s eyes snapped open.
He was kneeling on the ground outside his dormitory, breathing hard, sweat streaming down his face despite the cool night air.
"W-where... where did that mory co from?"
His mind raced, trying to understand.
’Elizabeth Murdock... a main character? Soone important enough that the old beggar ntioned her specifically?’
The implications crashed through him like waves.
’Why don’t I rember this? Why didn’t I... I should have known this. Should have rembered hearing about her from the novel.’
But the mory had been locked, sealed behind walls he couldn’t break until now.
’Sothing triggered the unsealing. Sothing specific happened to break the seal and–’
Then he rembered Elizabeth’s words from months ago, her voice echoing in his mory.
’So of your mories are sealed. They’ll unlock when certain conditions are t.’
His hands clenched into fists.
"Did sothing happen to trigger the unsealing?"
Then another thought crashed through, cutting through everything else like a blade.
Robert’s voice, confused and worried.
’President Elizabeth hasn’t returned yet. There is no communication and no explanation.’
Damian’s blood ran cold.
’The mory unlocked... because the condition was t. Because Elizabeth is...’
He couldn’t finish the thought.
"Gia."
He activated his Academy watch, pulling up the communication interface.
No response ca back from the AI.
"Gia, I need you. It’s urgent."
Still nothing except empty silence.
His pulse quickened.
"Aiko."
The familiar cheerful voice erged after a brief delay, but her tone carried unusual concern.
"It’s been a long ti, Damian. You usually don’t need my help these days. Sothing happened?"
"Where’s Gia? I need to talk with her imdiately."
The urgency in his voice must have communicated itself clearly.
Aiko went silent for several long seconds.
When she spoke again, her voice had lost all its usual lightness.
"I’m... unable to reach the main consciousness. There’s no response from Gia at all."
Damian’s world tilted.
He broke into a run, his speed carrying him across campus in seconds, his feet barely touching the ground as he closed distance toward the first-year dormitories where his peers used to live last year.
*****
CRASH
The door to Adrian’s room exploded inward under Damian’s Aura-enhanced kick, wood splintering and fra buckling.
The room was empty.
Bed made, belongings organized, but no sign of the purple-haired friend who should have been sleeping here.
"Kuro!"
Damian’s voice cut through the night.
Shadows rippled across the floor like disturbed water, darkness gathering and taking shape.
The raven materialized slowly, his crimson eyes gleaming with intelligence as he erged.
Kuro cocked his head, confusion radiating through their bond.
’Stupid human shouting! Kuro was training! What–’
"Can you track Adrian using anything here? His scent, his Aura signature, anything?"
The raven hopped around the room, his sharp eyes scanning every surface, his perception far beyond normal animals.
’No... Kuro need death energy to track properly. Living things not easy for Kuro to sense.’
Damian’s jaw clenched, frustration and fear mixing in his chest.
Then Kuro went completely still.
His head swiveled toward the window, staring out into the distance beyond the Academy grounds, beyond Tranquil City’s lights.
’But... Kuro see sothing else.’
His ntal voice carried unusual weight.
’Death energy... far away... too much death... suppressed but not hidden from Kuro... Death never escapes Kuro’s eyes.’
The raven’s body enlarged suddenly, growing from small bird to massive creature capable of carrying a person, his feathers seeming to absorb all surrounding light.
Damian climbed onto Kuro’s back without hesitation.
’That’s where she might be... I need to check at least. No other option. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. But if I’m right and I do nothing...’
He couldn’t finish that thought either.
"Use your maximum speed...."
****
BOOM
The sound barrier shattered as Kuro launched from the window, his wings cutting through air with force that created visible shockwaves.
Buildings blurred past, the Academy campus becoming a sar of light and shadow.
Tranquil City spread below them, the Mafia’s territory marked by crimson symbols glowing against darkness.
And throughout the city, S rank awakeners sensed the disturbance.
****
[Orphanage Rooftop - Tranquil City]
Gregor stood with arms crossed, his greying hair ruffled by night wind, his experienced eyes tracking the massive raven’s flight path.
"He’s moving toward the northern outskirts."
Beside him, Vash’s bulky fra blocked moonlight, his bald head gleaming.
"Sothing serious happened to make him rush like that."
Castor’s analytical mind was already processing patterns.
"He looked in our direction before leaving. A glance, brief but deliberate. He knows we’re watching."
Yara stepped forward, her healing-specialist nature making her more attuned to distress.
"Should we follow?"
Gregor’s expression beca serious, his veteran instincts screaming warnings.
"He left the choice to us."
His voice carried weight.
"In his mind, he already owes us for the protection we’ve provided. But he doesn’t realize how much he’s done for us... he gave us safe haven when every Noble family wants us dead and provided purpose beyond re survival."
He looked at his three companions.
"We’ve watched for months now. Seen everything he’s built. Every choice he’s made."
Vash grinned, his blunt nature showing through.
"I say we join the Mafia officially. As real mbers, not just guests hiding in the shadows."
Castor nodded slowly.
"Agreed. But not before we tell him the truth. About which families are hunting us, about why we’re fugitives and about what connecting with us will actually cost him."
Yara’s gentle face beca stern.
"Our fates will be tied together if we do this... He needs to understand the danger."
Gregor’s eyes never left the distant speck that was Kuro and Damian disappearing into darkness.
"Make sure he stays safe, Vash. If whatever he’s rushing toward is sothing you can’t handle alone..."
Vash was already moving, his body blurring as S rank speed carried him across rooftops.
"You know how to call us if needed."
Then he vanished, following Damian’s path.
****
[Northern Outskirts - Beyond Tranquil City]
Empty fields stretched under moonlight, abandoned warehouses casting long shadows.
Kuro’s flight slowed as they approached sothing that shouldn’t exist.
A do.
Massive beyond comprehension, stretching hundreds of ters, maybe kiloters in every direction, its surface shimring with dark orange Aura that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Physical Domains ca in many forms, but their boundaries fell into three categories.
The rarest and most costly was a Sealed Boundary, a prison of Will that prevented anything from entering or leaving, burning through the user’s Aura reserves at catastrophic rates while demanding absolute concentration to maintain.
The most common was an Open Boundary, no barrier at all, just the manifested reality extending outward like a sphere of influence, the user’s Will reshaping the world within their reach without wasting power on containnt.
And between these extres lay the One-Way Seal.
A compromise that allowed entry but prevented escape, trapping targets inside while conserving enough power for the Domain user to maintain other skills, other battles and other manifestations of their absolute authority over reality.
’Is it a completely sealed boundary, or one-way seal?’
Damian’s mind categorized automatically as they approached.
He reached out, his hand touching the barrier’s surface.
His fingers passed through like pressing against water.
’One-way seal... People inside can’t escape, but outsiders can enter.’
The choice told a story.
Whoever created this Domain was already engaged in sothing that demanded most of their Will and Aura, sothing so taxing that they couldn’t afford the expenditure of a complete seal.
They needed their targets trapped but couldn’t waste power on keeping everyone else out.
Kuro crossed the threshold, and reality changed.
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