The two boys stared, transfixed at the bloodied staff floating eerily above them. Their eyes were wide with shock, their hearts pounding in their chests as the weight of the horrific events sank in. A crushing silence hung in the air before panic overtook them, and they turned, sprinting toward the door, their screams piercing the stillness in a desperate plea for help.
Before they could even reach the threshold, the staff hurtled toward them with severe intensity, striking one of the boys with such force that his body was obliterated in an instant. The chain attached to the staff then whipped around the remaining boy, yanking him backward with brutal force and slamming him into the lab equipment. The staff descended upon him, pressing against his chest before delivering a final blow that ripped a gaping hole through his chest, leaving his lifeless body crumpled on the floor.
The staff unwound its chain from the boy's limp form and floated toward Seiya, who knelt nearby, his senses numbed by pain. It dropped gently beside him on the ground and remained still.
From the commotion, the workers and Ms. Onoya rushed into the lab. Their gasps of horror filled the room as they took in the gruesome scene: the boys' bodies sprawled mercilessly across the floor, blood staining the ground and turning the lab a crimson red.
Spotting Seiya crouched some distance away, his faint breaths barely audible, Ms. Onoya hurried to his side. She gasped in shock as she saw his condition. His eyes were tightly shut, blood staining his face in thick streaks, the skin melted and charred. The burn extended from just above his brows to the bridge of his nose, stretching across his cheekbones, just beneath his eyes and curving down to both his ears. The burned skin was charred a ghastly white, unnaturally smooth and leathery. Around the edges where the burn faded into less severe damage, the skin is inflamed and blistered, glistening wet and red.
Ms. Onoya immediately ordered for healers to be called, all the while watching Seiya, her eyes drawn to the bloodied staff beside him. Its gruesome appearance, soaked in blood, left her unsettled as she glanced between it and the lifeless bodies of the boys.
---
Seiya's father was swiftly informed of the situation. His fury knew no bounds as he learned of the atrocities inflicted upon Seiya, his prized asset. But the anger only deepened when he discovered the loss of not one, but three valuable products.
Attempts to retrieve footage from the lab's cameras were futile. The commotion had caused extensive damage to the equipment, and only partial footage of the boys attacking Seiya had been recovered. After that, the footage went blank—likely the result of some external interference or jamming device. The question of how Seiya had managed to wield a staff they knew not where it came from, and how it had played a role in the boys' deaths, remained unanswered.
Though Seiya was offered immediate treatment and healing for his injuries, his burns could not be healed easily. They'd found out the boys didn't use ordinary boiling water but one infused with Awakened Ability, rendering conventional healing methods nearly useless. To make matters worse, no available healer could alleviate the excruciating pain coursing through Seiya's body.
Not willing to lose his valuable asset, Seiya's father requested a top-tier healer from the higher ups to be sent immediately.
In the meantime, Seiya was placed in a vertical cylinder full-body scanner, strapped down and covered with a medicated cloth over his eyes, where he would be monitored for special treatment. The stainless steel staff was locked away in a glass containment chamber, its ominous presence sealed away.
Confined to the scanner, Seiya's mind wandered, blank and detached. The third day after the incident, Seiya remained isolated, still locked away with his thoughts distant.
He briefly thought of Suhei and Hayne, wondering if they were concerned about him, though he quickly dismissed the thought. They knew he was being kept away by his father, so they wouldn't likely worry. And even if they did, they had never been able to help him in the past.
No one will come for me, Seiya thought with a weary sigh.
Then, suddenly, as he thought that, a loud pulsating heartbeat grated against his senses. The rhythm was intense, filled with anxiety, and it was approaching. Seiya, attuned to the subtle shifts in heartbeats, could tell immediately that whoever was approaching was filled with deep worry.
Am I perhaps forgetting something? Seiya wondered, or someone?
{You are,} came the soft voice of Ibyu, who had been listening to the same heart's pulsations.
Who—? Seiya started to ask, but before he could finish, the pulsating heart came closer, growing louder and nearer. The person had entered the room.
Seiya's mind clicked into place, recognizing the heart's rhythm and recalling someone he had forgotten.
Come to think of it, I have a teacher, don't I? he thought rhetorically, the realization dawning on him.
A year ago, after completing his two-year martial arts training, Seiya was introduced to a new instructor—a man unlike any other he had encountered. With hair as pink as cherry blossoms and chestnut eyes, this man had been assigned to teach Seiya about the world of Awakeners and the mysteries of dungeons.
But unlike the others who subjected Seiya to relentless training, this instructor had been different. Their first meeting had been unconventional—rather than demanding Seiya's performance, the man had simply talked with him throughout the day, offering the first break Seiya had ever received. It was the first time Seiya had felt something akin to peace in years.
The man had insisted Seiya call him 'Sensei,' and over the past year, his kindness and concern had stirred emotions within Seiya that he had long forgotten. The teacher had treated him with humanity, something Seiya hardly experienced from anyone in the lab.
Though Seiya thought him to be pest number 3 after Hayne and Suhei because like them, the man is always all up in his space, worried and concerned.
As Seiya listened to the steady rhythm of the man's heart from a distance, a quiet sadness began to wash over him. Gradually, the pulsation grew louder, drawing closer until it seemed to be right in front of him.
With his already impaired eyesight, Seiya's other senses heightened in response.
The man's heartbeat lingered, constant and strong. Seiya, knowing the man well, sensed he was calling out to him. The cylinder scanner Seiya was confined in was completely soundproof, rendering him unable to hear, and with his damaged vision, he could not see either. But the rhythm of the man's heart conveyed everything he needed to know.
As Seiya focused on the anxious pulse, a growing dread settled in his chest. Doubt crept into his mind—he couldn't remember what the man actually looked like. In the darkness that surrounded him, Seiya wondered if he had failed to truly see him before, if his eyes had only ever looked past him, blank and vacant. He feared he was losing the ability to remember faces, a consequence of the years of stress, experiments, and torment.
His father had once dismissed such concerns, telling him it didn't matter as long as his senses remained sharp enough to serve as a weapon.
Straining under the weight of these thoughts, Seiya's mind wandered to Hayne, forcing himself to recall the color of his hair, his eyes, and the other features that set him apart. He did the same for Suhei, and for the man now standing before him, his heart filled with worry.
Seiya exhaled a heavy sigh, his exhaustion pulling him into a deep slumber. But as he drifted off, a fleeting thought crossed his mind: wasn't his teacher supposed to be away on a short trip, to return later? So why was he here now?
The anxious man before Seiya's scanning cylinder tapped desperately on its surface, his voice trembling with concern as he called out.
"Sei! Are you okay? Does it hurt?" His voice was thick with worry, so consumed by it that he failed to realize the cylinder was soundproof until Seiya's father interjected, dismissing his efforts.
"If you're only going to cause a ruckus, you might as well return. He can't hear you anyway,"his tone was dismissive as he worked with the equipment.
The teacher, visibly upset, turned away and approached Seiya's father. "How could this happen under your watch?" he demanded, his voice sharp with reproach. "As if the tortures you've put him through weren't enough, you let these fools do this to him!"
Mr. Sanio remained silent, offering no response.
"What about the boys who did this? Are they being punished? And what are you doing to heal him?" the teacher pressed, his voice tinged with rage.
"We'll have a top-tier healer soon," Seiya's father explained coldly. "Seiya is a valuable asset. Rest assured, he'll be healed."
"As for the boys who had inflicted the damage," Seiya's father revealed bluntly, "Seiya killed them."
"What?!" The man gasped.
"Don't make me repeat myself." Mr. Sanio motioned toward the screens, and the man walked over, his eyes widening as he saw the brutal remains of the boys.
The teacher balked, disbelief spreading across his face. "No. Seiya couldn't have done this. Not to another human."
Mr. Sanio said nothing in response.
"What did he use?" the teacher asked, still skeptical but desperate for answers.
He was then led to the room where the staff was kept. As he entered, he halted mid-step, his eyes widening with surprise.
"What is it?" Mr. Sanio asked, glancing between the staff and the teacher.
The teacher stood frozen, his instincts flaring within him, telling him that the weapon before him was far from ordinary. However, he chose not to voice his thoughts.
Seiya spent weeks confined to treatment, his meals brought to him and fed to him while his father and teacher worked tirelessly to find a way to restore his sight.
But at 16:05 p.m., after weeks of research, Matayoshi Seiya was officially declared blind, with no possible means of healing or treatment.