"Your heart, where is it?"
Seiya was stunned, the weight of the question pressing upon him. He was reluctant to answer, not out of secrecy but because of the suffocating presence of his father's ever-watchful surveillance.
Sensing his unease, his teacher's voice cut through the tension. "Rest assured, I'm using my ability. Your father can't hear us right now."
The assurance eased Seiya's tension, though hesitation lingered. After a moment, he relented, recounting the truth about his heart. His teacher, upon hearing it, was dumbfounded.
Once the shock of the revelation faded, Seiya's teacher fixed him with a serious gaze. "You must never share such information so carelessly again," he warned. "Your power is unlike any seen among the Awakeners."
With that caution given, they composed themselves. Seiya dispatched the last elf, and in an instant, they were teleported back to the yard.
Seiya's father was already waiting. His expression was tight with restrained anger, though not toward Seiya but his teacher. Despite the unspoken hostility, the man offered Seiya a brief nod.
"You did well," he acknowledged curtly before dismissing him.
As Seiya stepped aside, his father turned his full attention to the teacher, his already hard expression growing sharper. He knew what had transpired—that his teacher had used his ability to block their conversation in the dungeon.
"You're playing a dangerous game," Mr. Sanio said coolly, walking back to his seat, the very place where he had monitored their every move.
Seiya's teacher, unbothered, flashed a grin. "C'mon now, old man. Loosen up, or you'll wrinkle faster with all that tension."
The attempt at humor did nothing to soften Mr. Sanio's glare.
Mr Sanio's voice dropped into a quiet snarl. "You should do well to uphold your end of the bargain. If you don't, it will end disastrously for you."
The grin faded from the teacher's face, his gaze darkening with simmering rage. He held the stare for a moment longer before turning on his heel and walking away.
_ _ _
As Seiya walked, a sluggish voice echoed in his mind.
{You're back,} Ibyu said, its voice faint.
Seiya hesitated before responding. I didn't know we could still communicate through telepathy while you are outside and far away.
{Of course we can—so long as we're in the same dimension. I couldn't reach you until now because you were inside the dungeon, and I was outside,} Ibyu explained, its tiny voice carrying a faint huff.
What's wrong? Seiya asked, sensing something off.
{Apparently, being separated from you drains every bit of my spiritual energy. If I'm outside your body, I need to stay close to you…} Ibyu murmured weakly.
Where are you?
{Right where you left me,} it blurted.
"…."
{What? Aren't you happy I stayed out?} It snapped.
"…."
It wasn't that Seiya wasn't pleased that Ibyu remained in place, it was that Ibyu didn't seem like the one to actually listen.
I'll be right there.
Though Seiya's words were spoken with resolve, his steps remained slow. Despite this being a path he had walked countless times before, his blindness made him cautious, his hands tracing the walls for guidance
As he moved carefully down the hall, the rhythmic pulse of multiple hearts grated against his ears. With every step, the beats grew louder, guiding him toward the dining hall. It was already lunchtime.
Inside the dining hall, Hayne sat with the older children at their usual table, a solemn calm settling over him. It had been nearly a month since Seiya was taken away by the seniors from the third floor. Since then, Hayne hadn't seen him once, and the absence had deepened his melancholy.
"Are you really still worried about that hypocrite?" Eiro's voice broke the silence, dragging Hayne from his thoughts. Hayne responded with a sigh.
"I told you, he was just taken by his father for special treatment. He's probably doing much better than we are, enjoying privileges we can't even imagine. And when he returns, he starts pretending it's been harder for him than anyone else, hmph!" Eiro seethed, scoffing as he turned away.
As Hayne looked up, his eyes caught sight of Seiya's figure passing by the dining hall. Without a moment's hesitation, he sprang to his feet, rushing outside, leaving the others in the hall bewildered.
"Sei!" Hayne called, hurrying toward Seiya, and grabbing his arm.
"What happened? Where have you been?" Hayne bombarded him with questions, his gaze falling on Seiya's bloodstained clothes.
As Seiya turned to face him, his hair shifted, revealing his face, and Hayne froze, the words dying in his throat.
"I was so—" Hayne choked, unable to finish, his eyes wide with shock.
"Sei, wh-what happened?" Hayne's voice cracked, a swell of pain rising within him. Seiya's appearance told him all he needed to know. No one needed to say it out loud—Seiya had gone blind. The crushing realization hit him harder than he'd ever imagined.
Eiro casually emerged from the dining hall. "What's going on? Why'd you rush out like that?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he took in Seiya's appearance.
"What happened?!" He stormed toward Seiya, grabbing him by the collar with aggression.
"How could this happen to you?!" Eiro shouted, his rage escalating with every passing moment. "I thought you were out there living it up. How could you come back like this?!"
Seiya remained eerily calm, not a word escaping his lips nor a motion made, even as Eiro gripped him tightly.
"Let him go," Hayne demanded, pulling Seiya from Eiro's grip with force.
"This isn't the time for this," Hayne scolded, his voice stern. Eiro, irritated, clicked his tongue and stormed back inside the dining hall.
{I'm gonna die,} Ibyu chimed in.
"Sei, please, tell me what happened?" Hayne asked gently, his voice filled with concern.
Seiya, not yet ready to speak, simply gazed blankly at Hayne. Though he doubted his eyes could convey any emotion, and, more importantly, he felt it unnecessary—Hayne could already see the truth: he was blind, and that was all there was to it.
Seeing Seiya's reluctance to speak, Hayne sighed quietly and let the matter drop.
"Where are you headed?" he asked, shifting the topic.
My room," Seiya replied briefly. Hayne, understanding, followed his lead, guiding him along the way.
Upon reaching Seiya's room, Hayne couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. The room was bare, more a prison than a sanctuary—a small bed pressed against the wall, a modest bedside table, and nothing more. A stark contrast in comparison to their own warm and lively dorm room.
Hayne assisted Seiya in changing into a fresh uniform before Seiya excused himself to the restroom where Ibyu laid like a deflated balloon. Its tiny form almost lifeless.
Seiya slowly approached the faucet where Ibyu latched onto his arm, pressing and nuzzling its cheek against his skin. After a few moments, Ibyu exhaled deeply, its spiritual energy now replenished by Seiya's presence and contact with him.
{I thought I was a goner for sure,} Ibyu sighed in relief.
Seiya didn't respond, finding Ibyu overly dramatic.
{Take me along to eat,} Ibyu requested, crawling into Seiya's clothes.
Hayne guided Seiya into the dining hall, where all eyes immediately fixed on him as he was led to their table. The whispers from the other children blurred into indistinct noise, but Seiya remained resolutely indifferent, determined not to give them even a moment of his attention.
Once Seiya was seated, Hayne left to fetch his food, leaving Ibyu eagerly awaiting the meal with evident excitement. However, before Hayne could return, a worker arrived to inform Seiya that he had been summoned by his father.
{Ah, damn it!} Ibyu cursed, watching his long-anticipated meal slip away.
Ibyu quickly made its way into Seiya's pants, clinging to him as he was led to his father.
Seiya was taken into a lab, the air thick with the pulsating hearts of several people. He waited silently for his father to speak, but instead, he heard only a terse command, tinged with irritation.
"Lay him down," his father ordered.
Seiya was positioned on a cold metal bed, the rhythm of multiple hearts drawing nearer. As he lay still, he felt the sharp rip of fabric as his clothes were torn open. The chilling touch of a scalpel grazed his stomach, its cold edge pressing against his skin.
Seiya's father pressed the scalpel against Seiya's stomach, attempting to make an incision. However, no matter how hard he tried, the blade refused to cut through. It felt as if Seiya's body were made of steel rather than flesh, impervious to the sharp edge.
Frustrated, he pressed harder, but still nothing. Doubt crept in, and he examined the scalpel, wondering if it had grown dull, or if his own strength was lacking. He switched to a new scalpel, the frustration building within him. Yet even with the fresh blade, no cut was made.
"What the hell is going on?!" Seiya's father shouted, his voice laced with disbelief. The staff surrounding him were equally stunned by the inexplicable turn of events.
"Get me a new one!" he barked, and a worker hurried to fetch a fresh new scalpel. When it arrived, without even bothering to sterilize it, he attempted once more to cut Seiya.
But even with this new one, no cut was made on Seiya's skin.
Seething with rage and exasperation, Seiya's father grabbed a nearby dagger and thrust it toward Seiya's stomach. To his shock, the blade halted mere inches away from Seiya's skin, as if an invisible barrier protected him. Gasps filled the lab, and even Seiya's father stood frozen, his eyes wide in disbelief, unable to comprehend what was unfolding.
Seiya exhaled a soft, knowing sigh, prompting Ibyu to ask, {Is this what you meant by something being wrong with your body?}
"Mn," Seiya answered quietly.