Magister Insanity

Within his slumber, Kael stirred at a peculiar sensation.

Perhaps because he was such a deep sleeper, he failed to recognize his grim situation.

In the next instant, the sensation spiked into pain. It felt like a thin, sharp object was piercing straight into his body. More particularly, his neck.

What the hell?!

Startled, Kael's eyes flew open. He caught the faint movement of a shadow slipping away.

"W-What…?"

Panicked, he tried to move his body. Or at least, he thought he did.

"…?!"

For some unexplainable reason, nothing responded. His predicament felt like being buried alive in sand. Each attempt to shift a limb met an unnatural resistance, his body as stiff as lead, as if some unfathomable weight were pressing down upon him.

What unsettled him even more was the dreadful realization that his body was failing him.

Faintly, he sensed a strange liquid forcing its way into him, threading through his nerves and blood vessels. The substance moved with an eerie rhythm, steadily shutting down the vital functions of his body. However, there was no chaos.

His body did not resist.

Helplessly, it allowed the foreign liquid to spread, as though nothing were wrong. In truth, it was more accurate to say that the mysterious substance had already seized control, leaving him powerless within his own flesh.

No...

At that moment, Kael finally understood the full picture.

He had been poisoned.

No! No! No! No! NO! NO! NO! NOT LIKE THIS?!

Overwhelmed with terror, he struggled to move, but his efforts achieved nothing. In desperation, he attempted to awaken his Legacy Ability. But, for reasons he couldn't comprehend, it refused to respond. Cornered and helpless, he made the only choice remaining to him:

He screamed with all the strength he could muster.

It was the correct decision.

If his voice carried, he would be saved. The dormitory keeper might hear his cries and intervene, or perhaps use the emergency runes to summon the academy's officials and security. Even if the keeper failed to notice, surely one of the other Sleepless would.

No matter how powerful his assailant might be, the fact remained: they had chosen to strike him in his sleep. That alone proved they had no desire to draw attention.

However,

"H-He..lp..."

Kael had completely underestimated the potency of the poison.

Not only did it paralyze his whole body and disable his motor functions, the toxin had also stolen his voice.

What came out was not the desperate, thunderous scream he had envisioned, but a weak, broken rasp. Barely a whisper.

"…he…lp…"

The sound was pitiful, fragile, and instantly devoured by the silence of the dormitory.

No one would hear it.

Kael's heart pounded. An unmistakable terror had gripped around his chest like the invisible hands of a giant. His eyes darted wildly, the only part of his body that still obeyed him, searching for any sign of his attacker.

All that greeted him was the surrounding darkness.

Then, in the next instant, a sharp reflection flickered as dark skies cleared and the moonlight spilled through the window, revealing the uncanny outline of a figure lurking within the shadows.

The silhouette carried no presence, blending seamlessly into the darkness. If not for the gleam of the silver mask it wore, Kael would never have realized that someone or something was standing there.

There was no mistaking it. This was his mysterious assailant.

No… I can't die like this…

His thoughts grew frantic, but his body betrayed him further.

The strange liquid now surged with greater force, numbing not just his limbs but his very breath. Even his lungs strained to draw air, every inhale shallow, every exhale weaker than the last.

The room spun. His vision blurred.

Kael realized with mounting horror that even his consciousness was being stolen from him.

Just why… why… did he have to die?

At that moment, countless thoughts spilled into his mind, each one grasping for the cause of his grim predicament.

Had some unknown creature wandered in by chance and chosen his room?

Was it because he left the window open? He should have closed the window.

But would that have even mattered?

If his assailant was an Eldritch Creature, then a locked window would have changed nothing. If it wanted to enter and kill him, it simply would have.

There were countless beings with strange "mysteries." Perhaps this one could pass through solid matter to hunt its prey.

And he was just unfortunate enough to be that prey.

However, if his assailant was truly a monster, then why use poison? For that matter, why did it seem… almost humanlike?

With that thought, Kael was struck by a sudden realization. His gaze snapped toward the uncanny figure, studying it more intently than before. Narrowing his eyes, he began to make out the humanoid shape within the dark silhouette.

The figure did not possess a mask-like face of silver. Instead, it wore a silver helm etched with strange markings he had never seen before. From the back of the helm, ghostly white hair spilled over its shoulders reminiscent of a Ghost, a Spirit or perhaps a Spector. Combined with the dark clothes worn on its body, the silhouette was no different from the shadows like a veteran assassin.

Judging from its build and posture, Kael understood the entity was not an "It," but a "He."

In essence, "he" was actually a person instead of a monster.

…W-What? S-Someone… p-poisoned… me?

Kael blinked weakly, his thoughts reeling in astonishment.

Of course, it had to be the handwork of a person.

Why had he mistaken this fellow for a creature? What kind of humanoid monster would resort to poison to kill?

More importantly, why had this person chosen him as the target?

He couldn't understand.

Had he unknowingly offended someone powerful?

No, that couldn't be! The number of powerful people he knew could be counted on one hand. And he wasn't foolish enough to deliberately provoke any of them. None of this made sense.

So why had he been targeted?

…Ah! C-Could it be… b-because of that?

There were rumors that his Master had offended many during his early years. Perhaps one of those old enemies had decided to strike at him instead, using Kael as a proxy target.

If not, then why go after someone like him?

Because of his ability? Impossible. If that were the case, he would've been dead a long time ago!

The absurdity of it all almost made Kael laugh, if only he weren't dying.

His breaths grew shallower. The air scraped against his throat like jagged glass trapped within.

No… I-I can't… I can't end like this…!

Kael's eyes darted desperately toward the silver-helmed figure.

The man stood there, silent and motionlessly, as though savoring his helplessness. The faint gleam of moonlight reflected off the etched patterns of the helm, turning them into twisted symbols that mocked him in his dying state.

Why? Why aren't you finishing it?!

The poison gnawed deeper into his body, shutting him down piece by piece. Yet his assailant made no move to end his life outright.

Cold realization crept into Kael's mind.

This wasn't a strike meant to kill him quickly. It was punishment.

The assassin wanted him to suffer, stripped of every shred of dignity before the end.

Kael's eyes widened, fury bubbling beneath his terror. If only… if only he could move! If only his Legacy Ability would answer him!

"D-Damn… you…" The words didn't leave his lips, but he screamed them inside his mind.

Slowly but surely, his consciousness began to fade. Before surrendering to the darkness, he cast one last weary glare at his assailant — his eyes heavy with bitterness, steeped in silent resentment for the suffering inflicted upon him.

Moments later, the last trace of light vanished from his eyes, leaving them dull and hollow.

† †

[You have slain a dormant Blasphemer: nameless.]

Finally.

For a moment, I feared the poison might fail. But in the end, there were no complications and the target died just as expected. The entire ordeal lasted three, perhaps six minutes.

Quite the persistent lad.

Even with a slow-acting poison, an ordinary Sleepless would have perished within five minutes at most.

He was no ordinary Sleepless. Who could say how many shards the Vermillion Clan had invested into him?

With this, my hands are now stained with the blood of three.

I exhaled softly.

Guilt served no purpose, the target was already dead. All that remained was to remember the fallen.

My eyes shifted to the shadow which seemed to writhe with anticipation.

Emotionlessly, I said:

"Y–[ou]... c–can d͟e͟vo͟ur... h–him... n̸o̸w̸."

Hearing my own distorted voice, I was momentarily puzzled.

…Ah. So this was the effect of the [Voiceless] enchantment bound to the Philosopher's Mask.

Because of its strange weightlessness, I had nearly forgotten I was still wearing the Echo. Once again, I found myself questioning the true purpose of this enchantment.

Regardless, the shadow seemed to understand my intent.

It quivered in delight, stretching in unnatural ways before slithering over Kael's body. In mere moments, it engulfed the corpse entirely, erasing even the faintest trace of his existence.

A voice whispered.

[Your shadow have consumed a dormant soul: nameless.]

[Your shadow has extracted the sequence ability: Mirror Body.]

[Your shadow's craving is satiated.]