When it cleared, he was no longer in the white room.
He was back on the rainy street.
The same street where he and Yume died.
The same car is swerving too fast.
βHaruka was the one on the bicycle now — pedaling with Yume sitting behind him, arms wrapped around his waist. They were laughing. Happy. Completely unaware.
Haruka tried to scream.
Haruka: "NO—! GET OFF THE ROAD!"
But no sound came out. He was only a spectator.
The car hit them.
The crash was violent. Metal twisted. Bodies flew.
Yume was thrown hard. She hit the ground with a sickening crack. Blood immediately pooled under her head.
βHaruka crawled desperately toward her, just like the real Haruka had done before.
βHaruka: "Yume…! Yume, please—!"
Yume's eyes fluttered open, glassy and weak. She reached up, touching βHaruka's cheek with trembling fingers.
Yume: "It was nice… knowing you all along."
Her hand fell.
She stopped breathing.
βHaruka screamed — raw, broken, the same scream Haruka had made in his own timeline.
Then the pain hit βHaruka too. Ribs punctured. Internal bleeding. He coughed blood, vision fading.
Before he died, he looked up at the rainy sky and whispered:
βHaruka: "I… failed her too…"
His eyes went still.
Haruka watched the entire thing, helpless, floating above the scene like a ghost.
Then the world twisted again.
He was pulled back into the white room — but this time he was alone.
The sleeping βHaruka was gone.
Only a faint red glow remained on the white floor where he had been lying.
Haruka fell to his knees.
The voice — his own broken voice — echoed one last time.
"See? Even he couldn't save her. Now… It's my turn."
Haruka's left eye started burning again.
He screamed as the crimson glow spread across his vision.
When the pain finally stopped, he opened his eyes.
He was back in the real world, lying on his bed.
It was 6 am. To check which reality it is, Haruka quickly checked his phone; Sakura's name was still visible, the last call was around this week, so it was still that universe where he woke up.
Haruka was sleepy.
Haruka: "I gotta name this verse... I am not sure... if this is the only chance, there are countless universes... metaverse, hyper verse, multiverse, omniverse...Whatever, I don't understand much of it. Ferixo and Alastor...Alexo?... Yes, it sounds cool. Must be the first time I got the name on first try."
Haruka got up and followed his usual routine. He got out, took out his bicycle, and beside the torchlight there was a stone... Green-White gradient. The conversation he had with βHaruka made it clear... It was Ferixo stone. Thinking back, Haruka remembered that βHaruka said he tested one of the stone by touching it,
"Maybe he used this stone," Thought Haruka.
Haruka went to school, he took the stone in his pocket as he got down from the garage, went to the classroom, only to see that Yume wasn't sitting beside him like she used to in his universe. A bit different, but surely, she might get close one day, too.
Haruka sat on the corner of the classroom.
He secretly took out the Ferixo stone.
Suddenly, Saito comes from behind and places his hand on his shoulder.
Saito: "Hey dude... meet us after class ends... we got your gift today... heh heh."
He suddenly glanced at the Ferixo stone.
Saito: "This again? You forgot last time it rejected you?"
Haruka, with a nervous smile: "One more try, I guess..."
Saito: "We all have superpowers... but none of them are perfect enough... some aren't even powerful enough... come on. Don't let the thought of rejection from a stupid stone ruin your future. Well, I won't stop you from another trial, though. Who knows, maybe you will hit the jackpot this time."
Haruka still couldn't adapt to the "superpowers" thingy yet. But he acted and wore a costume as if he knew it all.
Saito called everyone, Yume, Marcus, and everyone present in the classroom.
Saito: "Let's see! If one of our mages can unlock his potential this time!"
Haruka got nervous as everyone surrounded him... But he forced himself to adapt to the situation; it was like forcing yourself to eat a food that you really don't like.
He raised the stone, muscle memory, he grabbed it hardly and closed his eyes.
The stone started to glow with Light...
Saito, with an amazed tone, "I KNEW IT! NO WAY YOU WILL BE REJEC-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the whole class was astonished... the stone now had 3 layers of color. 1 had light, 2nd had darkness, and the 3rd had a dark space scenario with tons of stars inside of it.
The students started to murmur among themselves.
One of them said to another.
"Hey! Hell nahhh! He got 3 powers? I heard the highest a mage could get was 2... but he got 3?!"
-"I know, right?! Is he really the Haruka we knew all along?"
Yume was amazed the most... She was a mage too, but she got rejected because of low Mana...
Yume: "Whoa... That's so cool... I wish I had enough mana."
Haruka sensed her sad tone, and he immediately spoke up.
Haruka: "Well! Let's divide the stone into 2..."
Saying that, he smacked the stone hard against the wall. It turned into 3 pieces. Assassins could take any weapon, but with a Ferixo or Alastor, they could be more powerful — though it wasn't mandatory, because those stones were mainly for mages.
Saito was a mage, too. He asked Haruka if he could take one.
Haruka: "Yeah of course, like you have to ask me pft."
Yume picked one up; it was a glowing light...So her element all along was "Light."
The whole class was happy because there were only 3 mages in the classroom, and 2 of them had powerful elements, and between the 2 mages, Haruka got 3 elements.
Now that Saito picked his stone from the air and grabbed it tightly, it was glowing blue, representing Water.
The whole class started to shout with excitement.
Their shouting was so loud that the teachers had to rush in.
Seeing the situation, they couldn't help but chuckle; any teacher would be proud to see their mages from a class being powerful enough to get accepted by a Ferixo.
But all eyes were mainly on Haruka, who had not one, not two, but three elements.
One of the teachers started the class. The lunchtime was closer.
Haruka, in the whole class was drowning in guilt. He knew it wasn't a dream. He killed his version of himself, and he had to take his place. He hated himself for doing that. But there again, he was the jester; he had to make others smile. He forced himself to play the jester.
Marcus, Aurel, and others came to Haruka.
Marcus: "Another class bunking... directed by us... wanna join?"
Haruka immediately rejected and said he wanted to stay.
Haruka chuckled as he noticed the similarities; in his universe, they did the same thing.
Time passed quickly. After lunchtime, the mages were taken to a special room, and an old teacher with a long beard came to teach them the basics.
The same thing, Ferixo and Alastor, and about the Underworld and Upperworld, Heroes and Villains.
And at the end, after class, Haruka went to the garage; unlike in his universe, Yume wasn't there waiting.
He took the bicycle out of the school gate, and Yume was waiting there.
Yume: "Oh! Haruka i had something to tell you."