Eiden, dumbfounded but oddly excited, stared at the cleanly sliced vase.
The only thing running through the mind of an anime enthusiast like him was:
> "I'm the protagonist."
That little burst of hype shot through him like electricity.
He quickly snapped out of it, inspecting his hands, then the vase again. "It's... a clean cut just like Go-jo was ."
He crouched beside the table. "The vase is sliced neatly—but the table's untouched. The wall's fine. Not even a scratch. So… is my power just weak?"
No. That couldn't be it.
"If it were weak, it wouldn't have cut this vase so cleanly. It's like the energy stopped right there. Almost like it chose to."
He rubbed his arms, remembering the strange, warm, electric feeling that came just before the cut. "I didn't even see the attack. No slash, no flash, no wind."
He paused.
> "Target-based?"
"Selective damage?"
"Or maybe super short-range magic?"
Too many theories. He needed more data.
"I'm not breaking more furniture," he muttered. "Let's test it outside."
---
Eiden grabbed a medium-sized rock near the alley behind the house.
He placed it a few feet away—close enough to test his theory about the range—and focused.
He closed his eyes, recalling that feeling, the floating letters, the one that responded.
A familiar warmth surged through his chest. Then—he released it.
Crack!
The rock split in two.
Clean. Precise.
Yet once again, nothing else was touched. The dirt, the wall behind it, even the shadow it cast—untouched.
He grinned. "Okay. So it is a target-only attack."
His grin faded just as quickly.
Suddenly, his head throbbed. Hard.
"Ghh—"
The pain bloomed behind his eyes like fireworks. He clutched his temples and stumbled.
"Not now—dammit—"
He ran. Legs barely moving straight, vision tilting, he reached the door, staggered into the hallway, and collapsed just inches from his bed.
Everything went black.
---
Moments later—or maybe hours—Eiden opened his eyes.
He was still on the floor.
Groaning, he stood up, rubbing his skull. Outside the window, the sky had already darkened.
"Was I out that long?"
He leaned on the wall and thought.
> "I thought I finally had something... but this kind of backlash?"
"Why didn't I get the headache the first time?"
"Was it a one-time free trial?"
"Or is this my limit for now?"
Before he could go deeper into mental math, a knock came at his door.
Then Sasha's voice:
"Dinner is ready!"
Eiden exhaled, muttering, "I'll think about it later."
---
Downstairs, Sasha was already waiting with a warm smile.
That smile—calm, trusting—made something in Eiden clench.
> "I swear to never let that smile disappear," he thought.
They ate together. The tension faded for a while.
Sasha glanced at him mid-meal. "Where were you this afternoon? You left, then came running straight back to your room."
Eiden blinked and shrugged. "Nothing. I just got sleepy."
"Sleepy... after running?" she raised a brow but let it go.
---
Later that night, Eiden sat on his bed, staring at the broken vase again.
"Better fix that or she'll start asking more questions."
He checked his pockets for glue—but realized these weren't his clothes. "Right. Aidren's outfit."
He rummaged through the wardrobe and found his old jeans. Inside one of the pockets—his trusty Super Glue.
"Perfect."
He carefully applied it to the broken parts and pressed the halves together.
"Good as new," he said… right as the top half slipped off and clanked to the floor.
"Huh?"
He picked it up and inspected the glued part. It felt sticky—really sticky. It clung to his fingers like any other glue would.
So why didn't it work?
Frowning, he tried again. Still, the vase wouldn't stick.
"Is this vase... anti-glue?"
Just to test, he took the lower half and stuck it to the wall using the same glue. It held perfectly.
"…Okay. So the glue works. But not on the other half?"
That's when it hit him.
> "No way… don't tell me…"
He grabbed both halves again.
> "Is the part I cut with that energy... unfixable?"
The glue didn't reject the vase. The vase rejected being whole again.
> "In other words… anything I cut… can't regenerate. It's like... anti-repair."
His eyes widened.
> Anti-immortality. Anti-regeneraton
Or something like that
Maybe there is more to it but i don't think im far off either ,even if im wrong i wouldn't be too wrong about it .
He then closed his eyes again, and just like before, the three mysterious letters appeared, glowing faintly in a triangular formation—one at the top, two at the bottom. The top one was the only one actively glowing, just like the first time he saw them in the forest. The two below were visible, but dim. The slash attack he had used earlier had come from selecting the bottom-right letter.
"Hmm, I wonder what the other two do…" he thought, curiosity tingling through him.
First, he decided to test the slash again. He mentally tapped the bottom-right symbol—the one he'd used before—and instantly, the top symbol's glow vanished, just like before. This time, however, only three out of the seven runes beneath the triangle were faintly lit.
"Is this… some kind of cooldown? A timer?" he speculated.
Another thing he noticed—he didn't feel that strange energy inside him anymore. That surge that made his skin tingle earlier was completely gone.
"Makes sense if it's on cooldown, I guess…"
Now, his attention shifted to the bottom-left letter. The top symbol was always glowing whenever he saw this triangle, so it was probably doing something in the background… maybe a passive effect? He had no idea.
"Guess it's time to try the left one," he muttered, steeling himself.
He focused on the bottom-left letter, pouring all his concentration into it.
Suddenly—thud.
His body collapsed to the floor.
What the—
He opened his eyes and scanned the room around him. I could've sworn I blacked out… was it just my imagination?
No, it didn't feel like it. Something was off. Maybe it was some kind of side effect—like a mana deficiency, or maybe just not having enough energy inside him. Or… could it be that the timer affects all the words, no matter which one he chooses?
Either way… guess I'll have to wait and see.
Just then, something caught his eye—right beneath his feet.
He froze.
There—lying on the ground.
It was him.
Eyes wide with disbelief, Eiden looked down at his own hands.
They were… transparent.
Only one thought rushed to his brain that screamed .
D-Did I die!?
To be continued