After a few minutes, Noah arrived at Sector 11. He headed to his dorm, took the elevator to his floor, and walked to the end of the hallway, finding the room door slightly open as usual. He ignored it—this had become the norm. In fact, it would've been strange if the door were actually closed. Noah entered the room, shut the door behind him, and opened the window to let the cool breeze flow in.
Noah tossed his stuff onto his bed, stripped off his clothes, and went into the bathroom. He took a quick shower. The cold water cascaded down his body, making him shiver. He looked down at his chest, at the branded mark of slavery seared into his flesh. Then he looked at the wall-mounted mirror, seeing his water-drenched face. His black eyes had lost all signs of life, emptier than the void, deeper than the abyss.
He stepped closer to the mirror, reached toward his reflection, and touched the cold surface. A strange pulse shot through his heart, and suddenly a shadow formed behind him—appearing only in the mirror, not the real world. A girl wrapped her arms around Noah's neck as she stared at him through the reflection.
"You again..." Noah muttered to the girl who once whispered to him in Daedalus' labyrinth, the girl he had met on a beach in his consciousness, the one who had tried to kill him but was stopped before darkness could consume him. The girl who always seemed... familiar.
"Selene. That's my name," she finally whispered into his ear, revealing herself.
"Selene?... What do you want from me this time? Last time you tried to make me kill my Echo. Are you going to kill me now?" Noah muttered. She didn't exist in the physical world, but her touch felt real—her breath on his skin, the tremble in his body whenever she whispered in his ear.
"No... This time, I've come to help you," she whispered softly. Noah could see her gentle smile in the mirror.
"Help me?" he said, stunned and confused. The same girl who once tried to kill him, who seemed to hate him without cause, was now trying to help?
"Just once… So don't die. If you do… I'll die too," Selene said with a growing smile. She ran her finger down Noah's chest, stopping at the mark and tracing it gently.
"All this time, I've been watching you. Seeing everything through your eyes, hearing everything through your ears, feeling everything through you. I was more 'you' than you were yourself. So I'm the one who knows just how much this mark means to you," she said, then raised her hands in front of his chest. A shadowy dagger formed—shapeless but sharp enough to pierce anything.
"Freedom was something you always valued, even as a child. You wanted to spread your wings and escape this miserable pit. If that little boy who longed for freedom is still inside you… then take my hands," she whispered softly—what Noah thought might be... compassion.
Noah looked at the dark dagger aimed at his chest. Hesitating, he slowly reached out and took Selene's hand holding the dagger.
"You'll be fine. You always were," she said tenderly and began pressing the blade toward Noah's chest. It touched the brand, drawing a little blood before she stopped, sensing his hesitation and trembling hand.
"Everything will be alright. Trust me," she whispered into his ear. Her voice sounded like a lullaby, soothing Noah and filling him with blind trust—as if he knew she could be trusted.
Noah's grip relaxed slightly.
In a single motion, the dark dagger plunged into the mark of slavery on his chest. Pain shot through him like wildfire. It felt as if his muscles were burning and tearing apart. He clenched his teeth as tears welled up in his eyes from the agony and fear. Blood poured from the wound, and his body gradually grew cold. Selene let go of him and stepped away.
Noah stumbled backward. He turned to look at her—but his legs had already gone numb from the cold. He collapsed to the floor, unable to keep his eyes open, feeling life drain from his body. His blood pooled and was carried away by the running water from the still-running shower.
"No... I don't want to die... My...star..." Noah whispered, looking at Selene's ghostly shadow-made form before him, her eyes full of both compassion and mercy... and yet, at the same time, hatred and malice.
"...Another contradiction I don't understand..." Noah whispered, before his eyes shut and he lost consciousness due to blood loss.
Selene's shadowy bare feet touched the ground as she stood beside Noah. The dagger disappeared from his body, transforming into a black, water-like substance that floated toward Selene and merged with her shadowy dress.
"The new flaw can't be stopped. The coming storm will reshape the future and rewrite history. Those above—the ones pulling the strings of fate—will be forced to act. And the one who triggered this revolution... is you...my hero," Selene said, then vanished from the room, her final words echoing like she had never truly left.
———————
Meanwhile, in Sector 12, near a massive, black-armored building—the prison—just far enough to stay out of the guards' sight, stood an abandoned watch-hut once used as a surveillance point. Though just a hut, it was fairly spacious inside.
Inside it, Enel was tied up with rope, his wrists bound and suspended from the ceiling. He slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a dark room where he could see nothing.
"W-where am I?! What is this place?!" Enel said, his voice trembling with fear and anxiety. Then he heard the sound of burning sulfur—a match. A spark lit some wood aflame. A red-hot metal rod lay in the fire, beside a bucket of water. Standing next to them was someone Enel recognized from before—Derek Miller.
"Y-you?! What have you done?! Where am I?!" Enel asked, panicking. He squirmed and struggled against the rope, but it was useless—even his feet were bound together.
"Relax. This won't take long. But… I do have a lot of questions. And I want answers," Derek said, wearing thick gloves as he walked toward Enel and stopped in front of him.
"Let me go! What you're doing is a crime! You'll get expelled from the university! You'll be punished for this!" Enel cried, trembling. He tried pulling his hands free, but the knots were tight and expertly tied—he couldn't escape.
"And who's going to tell the university what I did? If you leave here alive, I'll probably rip out your vocal cords so you never speak again," Derek said, his face forming a cold, sadistic smile that terrified Enel.
"A-a-are you serious—" Enel stammered. Pure fear crept into his heart. He felt a sharp chill, like his soul was about to flee his body.
Then, Derek grabbed Enel's cheeks in a firm grip, pressed his forehead against Enel's, and stared into his eyes with a bloodthirsty gaze.
"Shut up. Just shut it. Your voice is so annoying—feminine, makes me want to puke. I can't believe I live in the same world with a sissy like you. Shut up before I rip your throat out and toss it to the pigs!" Derek snarled, tightening his grip until Enel's cheeks ached with pain. Tears welled up in Enel's eyes from fear and agony.
"Awww, Are you crying now? Seriously, how can someone get more girly? How disgusting. How revolting. How pathetic. How utterly unacceptable and disappointing!" Derek shouted in disgust, letting go of Enel's face and stepping back.
Enel coughed from the pain, his cheeks and jaw throbbing down to the bone.
"W-what do you want from me?!" Enel asked, trying to stay calm—but fear had already seeped into him.
"What do I want? What do you people want from me?! Why are those bastards trying to find me?!" Derek snapped, his tone furious and unhinged, making Enel even more terrified.
"B-bastards? W-who do you mean?" Enel stammered, confused and scared.
"Your friends! Sirius Soren and Neriah Grey! Why are they following me?! Is it because I trashed that slave's room?! Are you trying to play heroes and get revenge for your buddy?!" Derek yelled, clutching his face in rage so tightly it seemed his eyes might pop out.
"Sirius... Neriah? I-I didn't know they were tracking you—m-maybe you're mistaken," Enel said, shocked. Whatever his friends were doing, he had no idea.
Derek froze and dropped his hands, then stared at Enel in disbelief.
"…You didn't deny being their friend. Which means you might be lying or hiding something... Fine. I didn't expect you to confess right away anyway. That's why I'm a professional at this… extracting information—or rather, making my victims scream until they spill everything. In the end, you'll tell me everything... even your mother's name," Derek said, walking toward a nearby table.
On the table lay a collection of tools: pliers, metal tongs, a nail puller, a whip, scalpel, branding iron, wire saw, a tooth extractor, a set of needles, a bone crusher, and a barbed hook.
Derek picked up the whip, ran his finger along its handle, then turned to Enel—whose eyes widened, eyelids twitched, and pupils blurred in pure terror.
"Hm, don't be scared. This is just until the slave brand is ready. You'll be another servant like the rest... unless you want to talk first," Derek said casually, as if playing with Enel—making Enel realize that his life was just a game to this monster.
"N-no! I-I really don't know anything! Please believe me! I'm not lying! Please! I'm begging you!" Enel pleaded like he was praying to a god—but he made one fatal mistake.
The one before him wasn't a god, nor a being of light. He was a monster who would torture him even if he told him everything.
"What a shame. I thought you'd be smarter. But it looks like you still don't understand your situation... So let's dance to the rhythm of your screams," Derek said with a sadistic smile.
"N-no! Please! Please! Stop! No! No! Please!!" Enel cried out, realizing from Derek's smile—He never intended to let him go, even if he told him the truth.
So begging was useless.
"Tic-tac, tic-tac… Tell me, which will run out first? Time... or your skin?"