Amidst the meaningless chatter about food and silent chuckles regarding crushes or anything ordinary, she walked alone in a room that was full of people.
She walked through the cafeteria and took a single glance over the room. There was just one thing she understood.
They are weak.
She could see it clearly. Beyond their smiles lay terrified children who were afraid of the coming winter solstice. Yet, instead of training with every ounce of their being, they chose to waste their time on such activities.
Today was the tenth day.
In just eighteen days, the solstice would arrive. These Sleepers would become more uneasy as the hours slipped away, but for now, they hid behind the noise of the crowd.
Nephis was a stranger to this environment.
She held a singular belief that the greatest power a human could possess was their own will. To her, if the will was absolute, then everything was possible.
Yet, these Sleepers were not willing to work for that will. They treated it as a secondary thought rather than their only hope for survival.
Nephis could not understand why they tried so hard to run away from their fears.
In her eyes, they were busy making fragile connections that were bound to shatter the moment they stepped into the Dream Realm.
She walked away from the cafeteria and watched him from the corner of her eye.
Kiyotaka sat among the other sleepers. He talked and ate with his own circle of friends. To any observer, he was just another person navigating the mundane life of the academy.
Nephis knew he was putting on an act. His humanity was a deep and meticulous performance.
While she stood apart from the world, he hid inside it.
As she moved into the quiet white hallways, she thought of his eyes. They were luminous and soulless. They were the same eyes she saw in her own reflection.
The similarities were undeniable. Over the past ten days, he had done nothing but watch her with that same dead stare.
She recalled the way he dismantled Caster on the second day. It was the execution of a plan. He was a creature of pure utility.
She remembered him navigating the academy during his first week without his senses, and the only thing she could understand was that he was crawling toward his goal.
Nephis understood that drive. She recognized the same monster inside herself that would sacrifice anything to reach the end. They were the two things in this building furthest from being human.
Nephis walked away, unaware that what she felt was not purely detachment. Underneath the logic was a hidden sense of loneliness.
It was a quiet jealousy because she could never do anything like this, anything like a human.
***
Five days passed.
Each day Nephis walked from the cafeteria to the dojo while Kiyotaka simply watched her.
A rumor had begun to circulate. People whispered that he was a two-timer, spending his time with Cassie and a worker named Kath.
She did not care. She had to train and would not waste her time on gossip.
Nephis turned into the corridor. The usual cheerful atmosphere was absent. In its place were only murmurs centered on a single person.
She moved past a group of sleepers and saw Kiyotaka standing there. He was the center of attention. For a moment, she wondered why he was standing still instead of training.
Nephis looked at him once and moved toward the dojo.
"Lady Nephis, I was thinking if we could share some thoughts inside the library once you are done with the dojo."
Nephis stopped. His voice was the most monotonous sound she had ever heard.
He referred to her as Lady. He knew exactly who she was. Considering the way he had watched her, she understood there was something important he wanted to discuss.
She replied bluntly.
"I will be there."
She did not wait for a reply. She walked in and left the others staring at the bluntness of her response.
***
Nephis walked outside the dojo and was immediately surrounded by the meaningless chatter of the crowd.
She ignored the noise and reached the cafeteria. The chatter grew louder there. She went inside, drank a cup of water, and left.
She started walking toward the library. She felt curiosity about what Kiyotaka intended to say. He had watched her for days and had finally chosen to make a move.
The further she walked, the more the noise faded. She reached the library and went inside.
She stopped for a single second to look around.
'Why is the library empty, not even the workers are present.'
She had left the dojo a few minutes later than usual. At this hour, the sleepers from the training grounds should have been filtering in, but the room was completely vacant.
Except for him.
Kiyotaka sat alone up ahead. His back rested against the chair. An open book lay in his hand, and he flipped to another page.
His eyes moved up as she approached. He closed the book and placed it on the table.
Nephis walked over and sat in the chair opposite him. Her gaze dropped to the cover of the book. She read the title.
'The Politics of the Clans by Giga.'
She looked back up at him. She did not bother with greetings or pleasantries.
"State your purpose."
Kiyotaka looked at her for a long second.
"You know, I have been spending most of my time in the library reading books. It is the only place that allows me to be myself. Here, there is no need for anyone to pretend or hide their fear behind jokes. Here, you are alone in an empty room. It is comforting. But as I read more and more, a question rose in my mind."
Nephis looked across the library once again, checking the corners to see if anyone had entered.
But nobody came.
She looked back toward him as he continued.
"In every single one of these books, there is a pattern being repeated. I wanted to know your opinion, Tell me, why in history only the good side ever wins?"
She did not understand why he asked such a question. Certainty settled deep within her that there was a hidden motive behind his words, and her mind began making parallels to her own history.
Nephis picked up the book from the table, opened it for a brief second, and then set it back down.
She could very well walk out of the library right now, refusing to answer him a single thing. Yes, that seemed to be the correct action, but for some unknown reasons, just hearing him talk made her comfortable. He, for some reasons, looked trustworthy.
The warmth of the conversation began to feel like a beautiful poison, a sweet fog numbing her natural instincts.
She should really be getting out of here, as it was obvious this was a kind of trick.
But her mouth began to move on its own.
"History is very much like justice. They do not care about what is right or wrong. Their only function is to please the winner and the public. In the past and in the future, whoever wins will become the good side, manipulating history according to their will."
Her thoughts kept getting lighter and lighter, The more she talked, the more comfortable she felt, experiencing a strange relief that she did not have to carry her burdens entirely alone. Perhaps she just wanted someone to talk with.
"The people who write those books want to maintain order. If the victims believe that justice is inevitable, they will wait for a hero instead of becoming strong enough to fight back themselves."
She finished her answer and looked directly ahead. Kiyotaka sat completely motionless.
Usually, Kiyotaka would have offered a polite phrase or praised the depth of her answer, but he remained silent. His observation of Nephis had already shown him that she was entirely straightforward.
He leaned slightly forward, his eyes locking onto hers.
"So, Nephis. The future you just talked about, are you going to become the very 'They', more specifically Aster, Song, and Vale, you despise?"
Kiyotaka was an unknown in this world where he knew nothing about anything. There were so many things he had to consider, and that was the reason he ditched classes and chose the library as his sole source of information.
Under just fifteen days, he had read every single book present in the library. He read the majority of those during the time period when he had eyes, thanks to [Vow of Life and death] all over him.
Nephis sat there without flinching or letting out any facial expression as she stared him dead in the eyes.
But her trust only seemed to grow for him. Even after hearing the names she despised the most, she did not feel on alert, and a smile was almost creeping up on her face, inviting the delusion completely.
Yes, she could trust him.
...
..
.
Inside her mind, a sudden, brutal twitch shattered the warmth. Her jaw clamped down with something desperate. There was a sickening, wet crunch as her teeth tore through muscle and cartilage, slicing her own tongue in half to generate a spike of agonizing clarity.
Dark crimson blood instantly filled her mouth, overflowing past her lips, She didn't open her mouth.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Kiyotaka, who was sitting with his head resting on his hand, slowly straightened his position as his eyes narrowed just a little.
Drip.
Drip.
He calmly reached out, took back the book from the table, and slid it onto the shelf beside them. He pulled the table toward himself just a few inches, adjusting the furniture so it would not get stained by the mess.
Drip.
He took one long sigh as he looked at the grotesque sight in front of him.
An unprecedented amount of thick blood poured from Nephis's mouth, pooling over her jaw and heavily soaking into her clothes. Kiyotaka had watched her mouth make that single, desperate movement, even though her eyes were unfocused due to [Embraced by Fate].
She had mutilated herself to escape his mind hax. This made her the second person to actually identify the subtle trap and escape skillfully, rather than relying on a brute show of power.
A bright light flashed across her cheeks, warming her skin as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Under the power of her ability, the severed flesh knit back together, leaving her tongue fully intact.
Slowly, her unfocused eyes regained their absolute sharpness as she looked directly toward Kiyotaka.
Yet she held no negative emotion in her eyes. To react with malice right now would trigger the trap and prove she agreed with his accusations.
She had already expected him to be some kind of hidden weapon of the great clans to monitor her, she just had not considered him to be so open about using such terrifying methods.
She looked at the positioning of the CCTVs through her peripheral vision.
No matter what, she could not act aggressively, but it did not mean she could just walk away either, as fleeing would practically be accepting guilt.
She looked down at her blood-stained clothes. The ruined fabric was a horrific sight, but it could not prove her guilt. There were many physical excuses she could make, even if she was not good at spinning lies.
She decided how to handle the situation. Forcing down the remaining copper taste of the trauma, she locked her emotions behind a wall of absolute detachment. She stood up smoothly, using her own cold stillness as a physical shield against him.
She chose to answer honestly.
"I just wasted my time here."
She started walking away from the table toward the gate, driven by a solitary urge to exit the library before whatever mind hax he possessed could grip her mind again.
Just then, she sensed movement behind her. Kiyotaka had thrown an object through the air, and it was descending rapidly toward her position.
Was it a provocation tactic, or was the airborne object lethal?
Questions flashed through her mind, but in that split second, she formed a ruthless plan. Kiyotaka was easily someone you would never want as an enemy, so if the object proved lethal, she could simply heal the damage using her white flames and use the assault as a flawless justification to kill him on the spot under the guise of self-defense.
At that exact moment, the rattle of multiple metallic chains echoed through the room. The library lit up with a dim low as her body suddenly spun, her fingers locking around the flying object.
Her eyes became unfocused once more the moment she gripped it. Looking down, she saw a thick book with a completely black cover and white pages.
She smiled and looked back toward Kiyotaka.
"I just want you to touch the last thirty-second page,"
"Nephis, fate seems to either hate you or like you quite a bit. My [Embraced by Fate] does not usually take hold of someone so quickly."
Listening to his voice without an ounce of resistance, she complied instantly, flipping through the pages exactly as he instructed.
She went past the first page.
Past the tenth page.
Fifteenth.
Twenty-fifth.
Thirtieth.
Page one hundred and twenty was the final
thirty-second page from the back.
She did not read a single word before reaching it. Every single sheet was filled with neat, dense handwriting written in a dark blue ink.
Her fingers drifted toward the paper, almost pressing against the words, but then the silence fractured.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
The pristine white page was suddenly stained in blood. Once again, her jaw had bit straight through her own tongue. l
But it was too late. Her finger had already brushed the writing.
Even though she had broken the Mind Hax, the [Divine Ledger] had already triggered. A split reality forced itself into her mind. Through her right eye, she saw the real world and Kiyotaka, who was tilting his head. Through her left eye, an entirely separate consciousness played.
"Why did you not fall unconscious?"
He quickly suppressed his own surprise, keeping his face perfectly blank, but the anomaly was impossible to ignore. Even Jet, a formidable veteran, had fallen unconscious when she held negative emotions against him while touching the [Divine Ledger]
Nephis, having been caught in his mind hax twice in a row, undoubtedly harbored a deep, burning resentment toward him. Yet, the [Divine Ledger] had completely failed to knock her out.
Furthermore, [Embraced by Fate] had taken root within her with unprecedented speed. She was a complete contradiction to his calculations.
Nephis considered taking immediate action. But the brutal memories playing out through her left eye forced her to remain still.
Through the stolen perspective, she watched a known Legacy named Kane, a person frequently seen whispering with Caster, being systematically and brutally dismantled. The memory belonged to Kiyotaka.
The Legacy was broken down both physically and psychologically, until Kiyotaka forced a [Binding Vow] upon him to lure Caster into the open.
The memory abruptly ended, and normal vision returned to both of her eyes. Nephis held her ground, refusing to attack. She moved her fingers to turn to the next page, but her mind was completely clear of his influence now.
"Actually, go in this pattern instead, Skip the next five pages and read the sixth. Skip the next eight and read the ninth. Then skip fifteen pages and read the sixteenth and seventeenth. The pages in between are merely sections where I shared my vision with Cassie."
Nephis began flipping past the pages, her eyes scanning the text anyway to ensure he was not concealing a trap. She kept her fingers clear of the words, merely reading the blue ink until she reached the sixth page, then the treasured ninth, and finally the sixteenth and seventeenth.
Every single one of those logs detailed the exact same methodology. It was a record of Kiyotaka isolating legacies, physically and mentally fracturing them, and then binding them to his will through a [Binding Vow].
However, the seventeenth page revealed something entirely different. It detailed a conversation between Kiyotaka and the government official named Kath. He had leveraged her to ensure the academy security would disable the library CCTVs and prevent anyone from entering the building on the fifteenth day of the semester.
That day was today.
A realization crystallized in Nephis's mind. Kiyotaka did not possess an offensive Aspect. His entire existence relied on utility, an incredibly intricate and lethal variation of it.
Kiyotaka looked down at the blood dripping onto the floor, walked calmly toward Nephis, and took the [Divine Ledger] back from her hands.
"As you have observed, I am not aligned with any of the legacies, I would like to propose a arrangement. I will answer any ten questions you have and permanently cease the effects of [Embraced by Fate] against you. In return, if my answers successfully clear your suspicions, you will grant me three wishes that I can invoke while we are within the academy or the Dream Realm. Once we return to the waking world, the wishes will vanish."
Nephis did not believe a single word, not after witnessing the sheer depths of his calculations. His targeted strikes against the legacies could easily be a fabricated play to gain her trust, and the nature of the [Binding Vow] itself was highly suspicious.
The specific verbal chants he utilized against the legacies stripped away their ability to refuse. If he attempted the same trick on her, they would both be locked in a permanent trap.
Yet, the opportunity to extract ten honest answers was a leverage she desperately needed to uncover the truth of her surroundings.
Finally, she spoke.
"I also demand absolute confidentiality regarding our exchange. You are forbidden from revealing anything that occurs within this room to anyone."
By injecting that condition, she could corner him into keeping the secrets of the great clans, effectively neutralizing his ability to betray her information to outside forces.
If he attempted to use a forced chant to manipulate her acceptance, it would simply give her a definitive reason to execute him on the spot, breaking the connection entirely.
Suddenly, two chains manifested in the air between them.
One chain connected itself to Kiyotaka's throat while the other stopped before nephis.
Nephis gave a silent nod, allowing the chain to attach.
The moment the link was established, the lingering weight of his mind hax vanished entirely. She recognized the name of his ability now, having read his internal thoughts during the torture of the legacy.
As the chains locked them together, The runes and chant began to appear.
>>>
[Bindling Vow]
Kiyotaka.
Nephis.
[The Measure of the Thread]:
Until they go to the dream realm.
[The Sacred Equilibrium]:
Kiyotaka: I will answer any ten questions Nephis asks me, while also promising to keep them a secret from everyone. I also promise that no one from a great clan, or affiliated with one, is currently watching us, and that my attribute [Embraced by Fate] will no longer work on her.
Nephis: If the questions satisfy me, I will allow him three wishes, but those wishes are only valid until we return from the dream realm. They must be reasonable, not absurd, and cannot put me in any dangerous situation.
[The Judgment of the Unseen]:
Fate now stands witness to this vow.
If the Measure of the Thread is fulfilled, the chains will fade and release you both, their purpose complete.
But if the vow is broken, the chains will pass judgment themselves, tightening around the betrayer's soul until nothing remains. Fate does not forgive. It only enforces.
***
Nephis walked back toward the cafeteria. She had spent a lot of time in the library today. As she walked, she replayed the questions she had asked him.
The first question she had asked was.
"What kind of connection do you have to every single one of the clans?"
"The only connection I have to any clan is through the legacies present here at the academy. I do not know anyone else from their clans, nor have I ever asked them to do anything that involves you."
She knew right then he was giving her extra details to win her trust. She had only asked about his connections, but he volunteered more than enough on his own. He saved her from wasting a second question.
As she moved down the hallway, she noticed a few guards standing post. She walked straight up to them.
"Kiyotaka is in the library."
The guards nodded and headed toward the library. Nephis watched them leave.
"Second question, What is your purpose in trying to get closer to me?"
"I was simply looking for a teammate who could help me fight against them and you just happened to be the perfect person. This is a fight for power."
She reached the cafeteria now, where the loud chatter of students filled the air.
It was a relief to know someone as dangerous as him was not actively fighting against her right now, but a few worries still lingered.
Her third question had followed immediately: "How can I be sure that you won't betray me in the future?"
"That's right, you can't be sure and there isn't anything I can say to assure you that I won't betray you. I have no idea what the future holds, but what I can promise you is that I won't betray you because of the great clans or any clan in particular."
She preferred that answer. If he had promised he would never betray her, she would not have believed the [Binding Vow] at all. She would have assumed he was just trying to manipulate her.
She walked inside the noisy cafeteria, grabbed a tray of food and a glass of water, and sat down at an empty table.
"Fourth question, What is this fight for power you are talking about?"
"Uh... You shouldn't have asked that... It is basically my own delusions telling me to take up a bunch of challanges. My goal of power and fight against Clans is just a part of it."
This was the part that worried her. If he was going against the Great Clans on a random whim, what would stop that whim from changing? What if he just got bored? It made his entire motive feel unstable.
She ate her food, the noise around her fading into the background as she thought.
"Fifth question, If you are fighting them based on delusions, doesn't that take away the credibility of your answers?"
"Not really. If you remember the rules it said everything must be fair. If I were to say something and go against it in the future it must be unfair for you and I would die."
He spoke about his own death far too easily.
Nephis finished her food, drank her water, and returned her tray before walking back to her dorm.
"Last question for today, Just how much of the academy do you control to order people around so easily?"
"Um..... Uh.... I might have made a [Binding Vow] with some workers who hold high position within the academy, nothing big..."
She reached her room, took a shower, and got ready to sleep. She had only used six questions so far. She had to use the rest before they entered the Dream Realm, meaning she could take her time. A lot of time.
***
Days passed quickly. She kept her remaining questions until the twenty-seventh day, keeping him from using the completed deal to his advantage inside the academy.
Now, she was back in the library, staring at him as she asked her seventh question.
"Tell me, what do you think the essence of martial arts is?"
It was a simple question, almost a waste of her limited count. But she had a gut feeling that his view on combat would be entirely different from her own.
"That's a good question. The essence of martial arts is absolutely murder but... I am trying to no longer follow the text book. For me Martial arts are basically just another point my goals must go through."
Nephis stayed quiet for a long moment before asking her eighth question.
"What exactly are these points?"
"For me points are not really something I can name... It's just a way of continuation which My plans must go through."
Nephis was running out of things to ask. She could have asked where he came from, but his very first answer stated his only legacy connections were the students inside the academy. That meant he did not come from any powerful background.
Her ninth question was direct: "What do you plan to use these wishes for?"
"Oh, I haven't decided yet."
Finally, it was time for her tenth question.
"Why did you give me ten questions? Why give me any questions at all? There are other ways to form an alliance."
Kiyotaka went completely silent for a moment before he answered.
"Nephis, a well placed question actually reveals way more about someone than any answer. My answers didn't reveal that much about me than your questions have revealed about you. This was the best method for us to get to know each other."
She could not argue with that. Kiyotaka's part of the deal was finished.
Now, it was her turn to honor the [Binding Vow] that granted him three wishes until they returned from the Dream Realm.
***
It was dead in the night on the twenty-seventh day, moving into the twenty-eighth on the calendar.
Nephis was asleep in her room when the sudden sound of quiet footsteps outside her dorm snapped her eyes open. No one walked down this hallway at this hour. She immediately went on high guard.
The presence stopped right outside her door.
Knock. Knock.
A gentle tap rattled the wood. She quietly grabbed her sword, crept to the door, and held her breath.
"Who is there?"
The reply came a second later.
"It's me."
That monotonous, flat voice could only belong to Kiyotaka. She slowly opened the door and found him standing in the dim light. There was fresh blood splattered across his clothes. It was not his own blood; she could tell that instantly.
"As my first wish, I want you to heal someone for me."
Nephis blinked in surprise. She had just granted him the three wishes a few hours ago, and he was already using one. It felt like he had been waiting for the exact moment the wishes became active before doing whatever he had just done.
Without a word, she followed him down the dark corridors toward the medical wing. She did not want to make small talk; she just wanted to get this over with.
They stepped into the quiet medical room. Nephis looked at the bed.
A petite boy lay there, completely unconscious and badly injured.
If her memory served her right, his name was Sunless.
*********
Here is the polished version of your author's note, keeping your casual, friendly tone while cleaning up the grammar and typos:
---
Did y'all miss me?
Dang, the last time I wrote a chapter there were 500 something collections, and somehow it is 600+ now. So uh, to the 100+ new readers...
Hello! This is a story where I lose my brain cells every time I write a chapter. I hope y'all liked my suffering.
Do let me know if Nephis was character accurate or nah. It was really hard for me to write her, but I believe I have positioned her exactly how I want her (for future).
Every single one of the side stories is really important, by the way. Future plots will revolve around them.
Two more weeks and my exams are done! Wait a bit more!
I have prepared a volume 2 and 3 in mind (not sure if I want two separate volumes or one big one) that will no-diff/low-diff volume 1 in writing if I express myself well enough.
That's all. Hope y'all liked it.
Peace.
Yeah, the writing style and words might be really different across the three parts. For example, I wrote this chapter over several months. The first few thousand words were written three to four weeks ago, the section from 2k to 3.5k was written one to two weeks ago, and the rest was written today.
I fucking had like some technical exam around the second phase so don't mind the words being too technical.