The Spectra hallway seemed busier than usual that morning.
Students carried books and chatted in groups, their footsteps echoing on the polished floor as the sound of laughter and academic discussions filled the space.
Evan walked in the middle of the flow, keeping his head down.
He had no interest in participating in the contagious energy that seemed to dominate the academy that Wednesday.
Two days had passed since his last conversation with Seraphina, and the tension from that exchange still lingered in his mind.
'She's probably still suspicious...'
He couldn't deny that the situation worried him, but there was something else beginning to occupy his thoughts.
The night before, while mentally reviewing the events of the story, he remembered something important. They were entering one of the central arcs of the story, and with it, a crucial figure would make her debut.
'Elis.'
The name echoed in his mind, accompanied by memories of how he had created her.
In the story, she was a complex figure—talented, but surrounded by doubts that were eventually exploited by the antagonists. He knew what was coming, and if he wasn't careful, things could spiral completely out of control.
'I need to stop her from following the same path.'
Avoiding the main characters entirely, messing up the story by altering major events—none of that was a problem for Evan, as long as it helped him secure his future.
And for him, now inhabiting the body of a potential villain rather than a mere extra in his story, Elis would be better as an ally.
"One headache after another."
He let out a sigh, running a hand through his dark hair as he adjusted the strap of his backpack.
"Ugh..."
The short sound escaped almost involuntarily, reflecting the discomfort he felt.
'I still can't get used to wearing a backpack again. My back is already sweaty.'
He adjusted his shoulders, trying to ease the feeling of damp fabric against his skin, but the discomfort only grew.
Then, as if his mind sought some relief, a smile formed on his lips. He remembered what he had recently arranged with Maya.
'1000 zens per week... I'll finally be able to buy a decent laptop and phone.'
"Heh..."
A low chuckle escaped as he glanced at the notebooks and books in his backpack.
"Goodbye, notebooks. Goodbye, books."
"..."
"...."
As he walked, his eyes wandered through the hallways, alert for any sign of Elis.
He knew it would be a mistake to attempt a direct approach from the start. Gaining her trust would take time, and he needed to be subtle.
"Hey, Evan!"
His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
Evan stopped and turned, seeing the two approaching.
Jenna had a warm smile on her face, while Alex maintained his relaxed posture, holding his bow—he looked like he had just finished a training session.
"Ah... Hello, Jenna, Alex. What's up?"
Alex gave a half-smile, crossing his arms in a laid-back manner.
"Haha, you're still as straightforward as ever. We just wanted to check on you—it's been a while since the practical exam, after all."
"Yeah, you vanished! I have to admit, my heart was shattered!"
Before Evan could respond, Jenna continued.
She placed a hand on her chest as if performing a theatrical drama.
"We went through so much together that day—I thought we were already friends, Evan!"
Evan couldn't help it.
A smile formed on his lips at Jenna's dramatization, which seemed to satisfy her.
But the smile disappeared as quickly as it came.
Suddenly, his mind was pulled back to the conversation from two days ago.
He remembered Seraphina, her gaze fixed, asking what she meant to him.
'You are... just a Spectra acquaintance.'
The response echoed in his head, followed by her hesitant expression.
'Why am I thinking about this now?'
He looked away, trying to push the memory aside.
"Evan?"
He blinked, returning to the present.
"Sorry, I was distracted. I'm fine."
Jenna narrowed her eyes for a moment but quickly shrugged, returning to her cheerful tone.
"Good! Just don't disappear again—we were really worried about you."
Alex nodded, crossing his arms as he looked at Evan.
"Yeah, we need you in one piece to lead us on Spectra's first mission." Alex joked with a half-smile.
Jenna shot Alex a look, shaking her head.
"Don't mind him, Evan. We still have some time before that mission."
Evan heard the words, but his mind started to drift.
Alex's voice felt like a distant sound, almost muffled, as the phrase "Spectra's first mission" echoed in his head.
'Spectra's first mission. A lot that defines the course of the story will happen during that mission.'
He knew it would be a landmark, a crucial starting point for various bonds and connections among the students.
For many, it would be the beginning of friendships, rivalries, and partnerships that would shape their journeys as heroes. But for Elis, it would be much more than that.
'This will be the turning point... the moment she starts abandoning Spectra and takes her first steps toward becoming a villain.'
Alex and Jenna's words had turned into indistinct noise.
Elis's image formed in his mind, and he barely noticed when Alex protested.
"Hey, I was just trying to say how great Evan was at leading us!"
Alex's words almost got lost in Evan's thoughts, but something snapped him back to reality.
A movement in the distance, at the corner of his peripheral vision.
Bright blue hair and a firm posture.
Elis.
He blinked, as if waking from a dream, the sounds around him gradually returning. Jenna turned to follow Evan's gaze, but Elis had already rounded the corner and disappeared.
Evan shook his head slightly, adjusting his posture to seem attentive again.
"Evan?"
Jenna called out, looking confused.
"Sorry, I have to go. I have some things to take care of before classes start."
Jenna looked surprised for a moment but soon nodded with a smile.
"Alright, but don't disappear again, okay?"
Alex raised a hand in a casual gesture.
"See you around, man."
Evan gave a slight nod and started walking down the hallway, but his mind was already elsewhere again.
He was focused on Elis, but he knew everything needed to happen naturally.
So, being who he was, Evan decided to go after the 1000 zens Maya had promised him.
—————————————————————————————————
Spectra – Individual Training Room
The isolated practice room was exactly as I remembered from the novel.
Reinforced walls that absorbed any stray magical energy, designed to contain even the most disastrous mistakes.
A perfect place for Maya to train... and, without a doubt, make a few mistakes.
I glanced around, searching for her.
She was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, hugging her legs.
I was a few minutes late. Knowing her personality, she had probably been waiting for quite some time.
'Does she think I gave up?'
The question crossed my mind before I could stop it.
Even from a distance, her nervousness was evident.
The way her fingers gripped the notebook, her slightly tense shoulders... and yes, I had to admit, there was something genuinely endearing about it.
I knew her too well to ignore these things—or rather, I knew who she was in the story I had created.
When I finally arrived and tossed my backpack into the corner, she immediately lifted her gaze to see who it was.
"Ahh, Evan! You came!"
She quickly stood up, clutching the notebook against her chest, and her face lit up with a subtle but genuine happiness.
"Of course. A deal is a deal."
"Yes... well, thanks for this. I really need to improve."
She looked away, adjusting the notebook in her hands.
Maya was taking this very seriously.
And that made me question whether I was really the right person to teach her anything.
But it wasn't like I was a complete fraud.
I had spent too much time writing and mentioning power and magical control in my novel, and I also knew all of Maya's struggles.
Because of that, I had ended up accepting her request for help.
"...."
I crossed my arms and observed her for a moment before speaking.
"Alright, let's be direct. Do you know what your weaknesses are, Maya?"
She blinked, surprised by the question, then hesitated.
"Uh... my magical power control is weak? I... can't stabilize the elements for long."
I nodded slowly.
That was true, but it was only the surface of the real problem.
Maya's difficulty went far beyond technique or skill.
It was something deeper, something I had written into her story without ever imagining I'd have to deal with it personally.
She tried too hard to be what others expected her to be.
Maya was a rarity.
A mage with an affinity for multiple elements—something many mages considered impossible or, at the very least, incredibly rare. But instead of being a blessing, this ability had condemned her. Growing up under the pressure of being perfect, of meeting her family's expectations, had planted seeds of doubt in her.
"Alright, you know that. But have you ever thought about why?"
She bit her lip, clearly uncomfortable.
"I've thought about it... but I don't know where I'm going wrong. I already know how to use different types of elements, but I don't understand why my control over them is so bad."
I sighed, crossing my arms as I observed her.
It was exactly what I expected to hear.
Maya was an incomplete genius.
As powerful as she was, no one had ever taught her the foundations.
"Your control is weak because you're trying to do something impossible in the wrong way."
She furrowed her brows, looking confused.
"What do you mean?"
I raised my hand, conjuring a sphere of shadows. The dark lines moved smoothly, as if they were an extension of my body.
"Magical power isn't just a tool you use. It's a part of who you are. The problem is that you're treating it as something separate from yourself, something that needs to be forcibly controlled."
Maya watched the sphere in silence, her eyes following the fluid movements of the shadows.
"But how do I do that? How do I... integrate magic into myself?"
I knew I couldn't just dump everything on her at once. Maya needed to start from scratch, rebuild what others had neglected to teach her.
"The problem isn't your magic, Maya. It's what you seem to have never learned. They gave you all the tools, but no one showed you how to use them properly. Before you can run, you need to learn how to walk."
She blinked, surprised, absorbing my words.
"So... I need to go back to the basics?"
I nodded slowly.
"Exactly. Choose one element, just one. Focus on it—not as something to control, but as something that flows naturally from you. Forget your family, the teachers, even Spectra. Focus on how you connect with magic, and the rest will follow."
She looked away for a moment, clearly pondering what I had said.
"..."
For a moment, I silently watched Maya.
It was clear she was digesting my words, struggling against the weight of everything she had believed to be true until now.
'Admitting she's been wrong... That must be hard for her.'
I knew that feeling.
It was the difficulty of convincing yourself to start over from scratch, to accept that the path you had followed until now wasn't the right one.
Something that, for many, seemed like humiliation—but in reality, was the first step toward real growth.
'Rebuilding and restarting doesn't mean failure, Maya. It means you're finally heading in the right direction.'
Personally, I had always liked discovering that I was wrong.
When I was younger and spent hours playing RPGs, I remembered the feeling of wonder when I realized I was making mistakes that made my progression in the game harder.
It was almost like finding a missing piece of a puzzle. Knowing where I was failing gave me the chance to correct it, to improve, and finally overcome the challenges that seemed impossible.
Of course, I didn't say that out loud.
Comparing magic to RPG games probably wouldn't help Maya at that moment.
It was something she needed to discover for herself.
She finally nodded slowly.
"Alright... I can try."
"Good. Then let's see what you can do."
She took a deep breath, raising her hand as she began to channel magic. A small flame appeared, burning steadily for a few seconds before it started to flicker.
Maya frowned, biting her lip as she tried to stabilize it, but the flame went out with a faint sound.
"Puff."
"See? No matter what I do, I always fail."
I shook my head, keeping my voice calm.
"No. You're just beginning. That wasn't a failure, it was progress. Now try again, but this time, stop thinking about what could go wrong. Just feel it."
She took another deep breath. When she raised her hand, the flame appeared again, small but more stable this time. Maya held it for a few seconds before deliberately letting it fade.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
"Better. Keep going."
As she took a deep breath and prepared to try again, I crossed my arms and watched her.
Maya had the potential to become something extraordinary, but not without effort. She needed to understand that her genius wasn't enough without the basics.
'This will be frustrating, but she'll get there.'
—————————————————————————————————
Spectra – Library, 20:35
The Spectra library was a refuge of silence, far from the daily chaos of the academy.
The air was filled with the scent of old books and runes etched into their covers.
For Elis, it was a place where she could hide—or at least try to.
She was sitting at one of the more secluded tables, surrounded by books she had no intention of reading.
Her blue hair shimmered under the soft glow of the magical lamps, while her amber eyes stared blankly at the surface of the table, filled with restless thoughts.
An open grimoire lay in front of her, its pages filled with diagrams and detailed explanations on magical manipulation.
But her mind was elsewhere.
She sighed, resting her head on one hand while her other fingers tapped lightly against the wooden table.
It was hard to explain what she felt.
A constant discomfort, like something inside her was out of place.
'Everyone thinks I'm special. That I'm even better than he was.'
That comparison followed her like a shadow.
Her brother had been a hero to people.
Strong, dedicated, a symbol of virtue.
And also... dead.
Closing the grimoire with a dry sound, she lifted her gaze to the nearby window.
The full moon shone brightly, casting its pale light over the empty corridors outside.
She had the same power as him. The same rare and destructive ability. Some even said she was more talented.
But for what?
That question was etched in her mind like a blade.
Her brother had given his life fighting for Spectra, to save people he didn't even know.
He was celebrated as a martyr, but Elis saw no glory in it.
All she saw was an irreparable void.
'He died to be called a hero. And then what? What remains of it? A gravestone with his name and expectations dumped onto me.'
She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it away from her face.
Being a hero. Protecting people. That was Spectra's ideal. But to Elis, it all felt like a farce.
She then stood up slowly, adjusting her uniform.
She knew what people said.
She knew what they expected from her. But the more she thought about it, the less she understood.
'So that's it? People are just tools... And I'm just the next in line after him?'
To Elis, no one at Spectra understood what she felt. Everyone was so obsessed with the concept of being a hero that they never stopped to ask what it truly meant.
She picked up the grimoire and placed it back on the shelf, running her fingers over the spine for a moment before stepping back.
As she walked toward the exit, the library felt even quieter than before. The moon illuminated the empty corridor ahead, but Elis felt no comfort in that light.
What was the point of all this?
Why did he have to die?
And why did she keep trying?
These questions echoed in Elis's mind, but the answers never came.
As she left the library, the cold night breeze brushed against her face. Her amber eyes gleamed under the moonlight as she gazed at the sky for a moment.
"Brother... I can't... I don't see any meaning in this life you chose."
With those words, she continued walking back to the dormitory.