Magister Insanity

The sun sank, and night quietly descended upon Niflheim.

It was a sight of haunting beauty, reminiscent of Earth's twilight, yet not quite the same.

How should I even begin to explain it?

Some say the Soul Realm is but a reflection of the material world. Considering Earth was one such realm, crafted by the Golden Emperor among the Nine Sovereigns, and sealed within the Silver Void, beyond the reach of the others — perhaps it was only natural that the nine domains appeared alike, and at the same time, bore subtle differences.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the Silver Void itself was the mirror, reflecting those very differences.

For instance, the sky would appear grey on one day, then shimmer faintly with streaks of silver on another, as though the heavens were breathing. The myriad of stars, too, seemed different here; never fixed, but drifting slowly like wandering souls, radiating a light colder than the ones I remembered from Earth.

Even the moon, when it rose, carried an uncanny presence. It glowed not with warmth, but with a pale luminance like an unforeseen horror was lurking within its depths.

Maybe it was just my imagination. After all, the gnawing hunger of the Soul-Devouring Shadow grew fiercer with each passing second.

And with it, my sanity frayed. Somehow, I had managed to endure but it was only a matter of time.

…Only a matter of time.

"It's time."

I lifted my gaze to the moon and resolved to act. The clock read 11:30 p.m, nearly midnight. By now, most should already be asleep.

Leaving the library, I slipped into the male dormitory, entered my room, and then slipped out again. A strong alibi was essential for what I was about to do. Since I had been seen entering, the dormitory master would swear I had returned to my quarters if questioned.

From there I slipped into Potion Brewing and, using a few tools and ingredients, set about crafting the Vorsk poison. I'd feared a mistake, but my memory was unusually sharp, and Calista's advice guided the creation of the fast-acting agent.

Carefully lifting the syringe, the greenish liquid swam into view.

On this day, this instrument of medicine would become a needle of death.

So I'm really going to kill someone with this. What, then, made me any different from the serial killers I saw on the news?

My eyes trembled.

There was a feeling of guilt accompanied with disgust. However, I swallowed all of them down.

Henceforth, I told myself, the inhabitants of this world were NPCs, like the ones in the video games I used to play. They weren't real; they were fiction. Killing them wouldn't carry the same weight.

Besides, in most action games the NPCs try to kill you first. There's never any guilt then. Why should this be different?

With a resigned sigh, I slipped the syringe into the shadow.

Yes, you heard right.

The shadow possessed the ability to store inanimate objects, something I had discovered some time ago while testing the limits of my strange companion.

To be honest, the idea hadn't been entirely mine. I had borrowed it from a manga I once read, where the protagonist could manipulate shadows and even summon beings from them through a so-called "technique."

The runes of the Murmur referred to this ability as [Shadow Storage], but I preferred to call it simply "Box."

From my observations, the Box's capacity wasn't without limits. Not that I ever expected it to be infinite, but did such a thing truly exist? Either way, each time I placed an object inside, it felt as though an invisible weight settled on my shoulders. Simply put: I could only place objects I could physically lift into the Box. If I couldn't carry it, the shadow would just spit it out.

Quite handy. But I wondered if I could store souls as well.

Objects that were intangible shouldn't have weight, right?

"Let's focus for the objective."

Putting that aside, I began to move through the darkness of the skies.

It was a moonless night, cloaking the world in near-complete darkness. For most, the absence of light would have been an obstacle. But my "eyes" were no longer ordinary. To me, the darkness was no different from daylight; every detail stood out with crystal clarity. Avoiding the lamplit main path, I slipped toward the back of the male dormitory.

Lifting my gaze, I fixed my eyes on a particular window.

Third floor, room "317."

Hiding in the bushes, I watched the faint glow spilling from Kael's window. From the shifting outlines, it was clear he wasn't alone.

Could it be Xyler? Or perhaps Zephyr?

No. Why would Zephyr visit Kael at such an hour?

"Is Kael a night owl? What do you think, buddy?" I whispered, glancing down at my shadow.

It didn't answer. Instead, it quivered violently, shuddering without restraint.

This was what happened once the shadow's hunger crossed a certain threshold.

Deprived of its usual intelligence, it became little more than a beast ruled by hunger.

Worse still, its erratic state left deeper marks on my body.

Gritting my teeth, I murmured under my breath, "This will be my third kill in this world."

The first was Erza, on the Forbidden Isle.

The second was Zephyr, in the Eldergrove Forest.

The third would be Kael; here, inside the academy.

All of them, whether by my hand or by circumstance, I had slain to survive.

Regardless of the number of people I'll inevitably slay in the future, these names has already been etched into my mind forever.

This was my duty as a killer.

Summoning the runes, I narrowed my eyes and studied a specific section of my information.

First Sequence Curse: [Sin of Gluttony]

Curse Description: [Your shadow has a unrelenting hunger. Feed it to suppress its berserk state or else, you might perish.]

Shadow Hunger: [75%]

[Warning! Your shadow's hunger is approaching a dangerous threshold. Feed it souls to sate its hunger.]

This time, it had climbed to 75%. I remembered the last occasion when it reached 77%. Back then, I had barely managed to kill Zephyr in time and offer his soul to the shadow.

What would happen if it reached 80%?

Shaking my head, I stayed hidden in the bushes, waiting.

The minutes dragged on, but eventually came the faint click of a door opening and closing. Soon after, the light in the room dimmed. The person I assumed had been with Kael, most likely Xyler, had left.

Kael was alone.

But I didn't move immediately. I waited, biding my time.

After another thirty minutes, my eyes gleamed with resolve. Just to be safe, I summoned and donned the Philosopher's Mask before proceeding.

"Alright… it's showtime."

Moving with both speed and silence, I crept toward the building wall and began the climb. The ascent was treacherous with only a few handholds but my Ways of Survival training had included climbing exercises, and my efforts were not wasted.

Surprisingly, when I reached the window, I found it unlocked. Tilting my head, I wondered if Kael was simply careless or just a fool.

On second thought, leaving it open at night wasn't entirely unreasonable. With no air conditioning, the room would grow stifling. Keeping the window closed would trap the heat, leaving anyone inside restless and uncomfortable.

I often left my own window open for the very same reason.

A laugh nearly slipped out.

The strings of fate were indeed cruel, merciless things. It felt as though they had woven themselves to guide me to this dreadful moment.

Because this was far too easy.

Glancing around, I confirmed there was truly no one else inside the room.

Climbing inside, I dragged my heavy body forward. The room lay in darkness, but my night vision etched every detail in sharp relief.

Step by step, I approached the bed with caution until I stood looming over Kael, who lay peacefully in his slumber.

Hesitation froze me in place.

The hand holding the syringe was trembling uncontrollably.

Could I really do this?

Could I really disturb such a peaceful slumber?

This was someone's brother, someone's son, someone's loved one.

Could I truly end his life like this, and in the most cowardly way possible?

Those thoughts drifted through my mind, until the growling hunger roared again, drowning them in the silence and hardening my resolve.

'I am a... coward.'

I steadied my hand and the syringe found his neck.

And pressed in.