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Mind Realm
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Moriarty and I clasped each other's hands in a firm shake, standing within the quiet void of our shared Mind Realm.
Together, we recited the contract—three times, just as tradition demanded.
The clause was simple.
To share Nether Vision with one another… and in doing so, receive it.
"You sure this is gonna work?" Moriarty asked, a trace of unease flickering in his glowing eyes.
"Relax," I replied calmly. "This is far safer than forming a contract with some ghost who might discover your existence—then we'd have to kill them. This way, it stays between us."
He exhaled sharply, but nodded. "Fine. You ready?"
His soul form began to shimmer, coated in a luminous green glint.
"Yeah," I answered.
And then—we ignited.
Our soul forms erupted into roaring, green, ghastly flames. The fire surged outward, engulfing the Mind Realm like a living storm.
It tore through ancient shelves and memory-tethered books, reducing them to ash in an instant.
The inferno clashed violently against the mist of forgotten memories, parting it like curtains of fog burned under sunlight.
The blaze surged further—reaching the outer barriers of our mental plane—and collided with them, writhing and sparking in resistance.
"Khrrgh—!" I gasped, dropping to one knee as waves of sealed memories exploded through my soul, flooding it with unbearable clarity. The fire wasn't just burning—it was peeling back everything I'd buried.
"Arghh—how long…?!" Moriarty groaned, writhing in pain as the Mind Realm itself expanded violently, desperately trying to contain the chaotic energy we'd unleashed.
"I don't know!" I screamed, as our souls burned and blurred within the inferno.
The flames grew hotter, angrier, as the Mind Realm thrashed in resistance. The more it struggled, the more the inferno raged.
Before me, there was nothing left—only a blinding brightness that tore through the darkness. Vision meant nothing in this place now.
I knew... all we had to do to end the pain was let go of each other's hands.
But that would mean breaking the contract.
And that wasn't an option.
I hadn't expected this to be worse than the Mana Heart ritual. Yet here I was, gritting my teeth through agony far greater.
Is it because I'm doing this so late—after already becoming a C-rank metahuman?
Maybe we were trying to etch something onto a foundation that was never meant to bend.
The Mind Realm shuddered violently, trying to mend itself. Its edges fractured like glass as it continued to wrestle against the transformation. And yet… as the storm of pain rolled through me—
—I began to feel something shift.
There was a strange awareness blooming inside me. A way of perceiving my surroundings without relying on sight.
Even with the vessel's eyes closed, even deep within the mental plane, I could still see.
But it wasn't vision.
Not truly.
What I saw was… color.
Not as humans see it—this wasn't light reflecting off surfaces. It was something deeper.
Everything non-living around us—outside the vessel—appeared in shades of grey, dull and lifeless.
Wally shone a bright, almost blinding white, like purity incarnate.
Grunthar, on the other hand, glowed with a black aura, surrounded by the energy of death.
This wasn't normal Nether Vision.
In fact, there was nothing about this in the sealed memories I'd unlocked.
In the very next instant, the flames disappeared—snuffed out like a candle in the dark—as we let go of each other's hands.
Both of us collapsed backward, falling to the ground on opposite sides of the charred mental library.
No words were exchanged at first.
We were too busy—each of us instinctively trying to reseal the flood of memories that had burst loose during the ritual.
"What is this weird vision?" Moriarty finally muttered, pacing the edges of the Mind Realm, which had visibly expanded under the pressure of the fire. "Isn't Nether Vision supposed to just show death energy? So why are we seeing colors?"
Still seated, I took a breath before answering, eyes narrowed in thought.
"If I had to guess…" I said slowly, "This is Nether Vision—but it's been altered. Mutated, maybe. We're seeing more than just death."
"Think about it," I said, motioning to the color memories still fresh in my mind. "Wally showed up completely white—pure. He's a newborn with no trace of death energy, right? Meanwhile, Grunthar was coated in black—because he's surrounded by death energy."
Moriarty raised an eyebrow, processing. "Huh… So it's not just death. We're seeing life energy too?"
"Seems like it."
He let out a low whistle. "So… some kind of anomaly caused by our weird physiology?"
"Maybe," I replied, having just finished locking away the last of the released memories, pushing them back into their mental vault.
But even with the fire gone and the memories sealed…
The colors still lingered faintly at the edge of my awareness.
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Paragon's Library
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Second Floor
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"Sigh… I did it."
A breath of relief slipped from my lips as I opened my eyes—green, ghastly flames flickering within them.
"Ah, congratulations, young master," Grunthar said, his voice tinged with genuine surprise. "I honestly didn't think you'd succeed on the first try. It took me several attempts to awaken my Nether Vision. You must have exceptional willpower."
"Hmm." I nodded, still catching my breath. "Thanks for sacrificing your time to teach me about all this. Now… bring your head over here."
"What?"
"Come on," I gestured. "You don't have all day. You'll miss your next class if you don't hurry."
He gave me a confused look, then reluctantly leaned down, lowering his massive head onto the table. His tusks pressed lightly against the wood.
With a faint smirk, I tapped him gently on the temple. My eyes glinted with a surge of green as energy pulsed from my fingers.
"Next time you're in a life-threatening situation," I said calmly. "You'll have enough time to escape—or act—within the limited time I've granted you."
Grunthar's eyes widened. "Isn't this—"
"I know," I cut him off, already rising to my feet. "I was supposed to give you this only after you accomplished something great. But consider it the price for helping me. Use it wisely."
I turned away as he slowly stood, eyes still wide in disbelief.
"If you run now, you'll still make it to your class on time," I added without looking back.
"…Thank you," he finally said, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it. Then he turned and walked away.
"Show-off," Ryuk chuckled lightly, observing what I had just done.
"Hey, you can't be the only one showing off all the time," I replied aloud. There was no need for telepathy—no one else was around to overhear. After all, who would skip class on the second day of the academy?
...Except me.
Honestly, getting stuck for hours in a single class was boring.
"Now that the vessel's curiosity has simmered down," Moriarty said, appearing beside me in his soul form, "I'll focus on stabilizing the Nether Vision. You handle the research on the 58th Shadow."
The books Reinhardt had found about the 58th Shadow were rare—only two volumes from the first section of the History floor. One was a biographical account of his life; the other, a dense thesis on technological advancement, written by the man himself.
I started with the biography. And after a few minutes of flipping through pages, I blinked and let out a sigh.
"This guy was... stupid as hell," I muttered. "He spent over ten years just to create a single artificial soul. But... I'll give him credit—preserving that long with no results takes guts."
"He had a tenth of your intelligence," Ryuk said casually, floating near one of the shelves. "And, to be honest, he was horrifically unlucky."
I glanced at him, intrigued.
"Life," Ryuk continued, "was actively against the idea of a mortal crafting something technically immortal. She interfered countless times. Even teamed up with Fate to make him live through hell—every setback, every failure, every ounce of despair came directly from them."
"And yet he kept going?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, he didn't stop. That's why she finally gave up. Not out of pity, mind you. Just... realization. Even after all that torment, he didn't hate her. He didn't curse the heavens. He just worked." Ryuk chuckled faintly. "You'd think she'd feel something—hatred, frustration, even guilt. But she didn't. That's just how she is."
"Then why are you so emotional?" I asked.
"Well," Ryuk smiled faintly, "I'm still the only Concept that feels something. I guess that makes me unique."
Among the current hundred Shadows of the Emperor, the 58th was known as a workaholic. Relentless. Reclusive. Meeting someone of his stature was rare, if not outright impossible.
But still, if I ever got the chance… I would truly appreciate the opportunity to sit and have a conversation with him.
Even just once.
My fingers lazily flipped through the yellowing pages of his thesis—until they froze.
"Wait a minute… what is this?" I muttered aloud, narrowing my eyes at the line I had just stumbled across.
'Created circuits within my vessel.'
I read it again.
"'Created circuits within my vessel…?'" I echoed, stunned. The words weren't metaphorical—at least, they didn't feel like it.
A strange chill danced along my spine as my gaze lingered on the phrase.
What the hell was he talking about?