After venting his frustration toward a goblin and completing his first trial, Sorath returned to the floor of everlasting daylight. A layer of faint smile masked his initially miffed face as soon as the light finished reconstructing his body.
At that moment, it was as if Sorath was a character inside a game rather than a real human being.
Why is that? Because the concept of the Awakening Phase is like a simulation with a hundred percent synchronization. That's why the Tower returns the failing candidates to the tenth floor, Havenlock, instead of sending them to eternal rest.
Sorath noticed a few gazes on him as he walked away from the door. However, he ignored them and kept looking for someone in the crowd.
Sorath noted something different from the people in the crowd as it was crystal clear they had distanced themselves by grouping up with their kinds.
Three of the groups caught Sorath's attention.
First, a group made of the outskirts kids, led by the outskirts boy he had provoked in the first ten rewinds.
Second, a smaller group with only nine members exuding an insidious aura. Their gazes were sharp, observing everyone while making sure not to stand out.
Lastly, an even smaller group than the previous one came to his vision, and Sorath recognized its five members, all of them. Julian, the ragged boy with light blond hair; White Lotus, the assassin Sorath had hired to supervise Julian; The Pandora Twins; and Rajja, a tall and tough-looking candidate who looked like a war veteran as if he was an adult.
Sorath nodded at White Lotus when their gazes met. Turning his attention to the farthest group, the suspicious nine, Sorath squinted. He knew them very well, like the back of his hands.
How could he not when he had once belonged to their group?
'Great. Two of my revenge targets are here.'
Ah, revenge. A companion of Sorath every night, whispering word after word, like a mother singing a lullaby to her baby or a father telling a bedtime story.
That word had always been Sorath's motivation to live his life as an evil spirit, haunting every person who had made his previous life miserable. However, that had changed. Instead of an evil spirit, he would become their nightmares.
'Honestly, if not for the promise and what had happened to the Author, I'd rather have Julian's help to eradicate the Syndicate,' Sorath sighed. 'It's a shame, but a promise is a promise. I have to find a way to kill him without triggering his Trace.'
"Sorath!"
From his left, a melodious voice called Sorath. Turning to face the direction where the voice was coming from, he saw two individuals approaching him.
Both of them were girls. One was Atri, Sorath's fiancee. And the other one was...
Atri glanced around, making sure no one could hear what she was about to say. After confirming the situation, she cleared her throat and spoke in a low, cautious voice:
"You have always said you want to meet my twin. So I brought her here," Atri glanced at her twin. "Enri."
With a sigh, Enri pulled the hood of his jacket and her mask slightly, revealing her features.
Enri, contrary to Sorath's expectation, was a girl with a "boyish" side attached to her. Her short, snow-white hair framed a face that radiated confidence. Her sapphire eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint, hinting at her playful spirit within. A hoodie and a mask helped prevent people from mistaking her for Atri's twin.
Actually, a mask was enough for her disguise. Even if people saw her, they would think she was a member of the Aquila House branch family or a relative of Atri. As long as she didn't dress openly, without a mask, and copied Atri's style, no one would have guessed her as Atri's twin or Atri herself.
"Yo, Shedever boy, I'm Enri. So what do you think of me?" Enri gave Sorath a grin.
Sorath sighed. "Honestly, I didn't expect you to be a tomboy."
"Tch. And here I thought you were stalking me," Enri sneered, pulling back her hoodie and mask.
Sorath, still not believing what he saw, reminisced his memory. He remembered vividly the fiancee in his past life, Enri, who impersonated Atri, was a woman with few words. She was calm and poised. He did never catch her fiancee acting like a boy until her death.
Thus, after seeing Enri in person, questions surfaced in his mind.
How could someone change so drastically and perfectly mimic a contrasting personality from their own in a short time? Or perhaps it was Atri all along? But, if it was her, why did she say she was her twin at her last moment?
Sorath glanced at Atri and Enri back and forth and eventually dropped it as he could not get an answer just by looking at them.
"What is your specialty, Enri?" Sorath asked.
"Me? I'm good at using my hands," she smirked.
At that moment, Atri elbowed her twin and gave her a sharp stare. Enri, on the other hand, ignored Atri and kept her attention on Sorath, waiting for his reaction.
Sorath noticed what she meant by that, but he feigned ignorance. Raising his eyebrows, he asked:
"You do martial arts?"
Enri's smirk immediately faded as she felt disappointed in Sorath for not noticing the hint.
Sighing, she clarified:
"Never mind, I'm good with spears."
"I see."
Sorath rubbed his chin, thinking about the matter of his fiancee's real identity once again now that he had more information.
It didn't take long for him to find his answer because everything Enri had said had convinced him that she was not impersonating Atri.
First, his past life fiancee was a calm and poised lady. Second, she was a swordmaster. Third, she was a lady of virtue as she never did a dirty joke like Enri did.
Well, that reason was not enough to prove that it was not Enri. Because she might have an insane learning speed to become a perfect copy of her deceased twin in a short time.
Sorath glanced at Atri.
'It could be her all along. But I don't understand why would she lie about she was her twin.'
Then he glanced at Enri.
'And it could be her too. But I'm not convinced by her character that betrayed my expectation.'
Sighing, he scraped all the thoughts aside.
'Grrah! Why the hell am I even thinking about this? There's a more important matter ahead.'
Sorath turned around, facing toward the great door's direction. His eyes traced its figure starting from the foot to its head.
Right above the door, a display of countdown floated. Its size was enormous, a perfect scope for the candidates to see if they brought sunglasses or if their eyes had the ability to resist the sunlight.
[99 Days and 20 hours remaining]