Location: Higashigumo Academy - Midnight - Underground Passage, Old Library Sector Wearing a technician's coat from the Academy and a specially crafted interference mask, Blanc descended into the sealed zone a hundred meters below the surface.
In front of him stood a door bathed in blood-red warning lights. On it were the words:
[Seiyu Foundation Research Base No.4: Otherworld Observation Chamber] He took a deep breath. The staff in his hand began to spin, releasing a layer of illusionary mist.
"I may be quiet... but I'm the Magic Club's top infiltration specialist."
The two guards stationed at the door blinked - suddenly lost in confusion. For a moment, they saw a swirling black vortex pulling them into an abyss.
In the blink of an eye, Blanc slipped past them and disappeared down the corridor.
Inside the chamber were rows of liquid tanks.
Floating inside were not corpses, but..:
Humanoid figures with fluctuating alien auras, their eyes hollow, glowing with a black bioluminescence. Each tank was marked, from 001 to 117.
"Not weapons... not patients..."
"They are selected human subjects."
And one of them - woke up.
His wand began to warm. A vague and dangerous awareness brushed against his mind:
"You have arrived... Blanc."
[2] Yorumi Sou - Trial of the Lonely Peak Location: Outside Higashigumo Academy - Fifth Restricted Zone - Tower Cliff His clothes were torn, soaked with sweat and blood. Standing atop the darkened tower, Yorumi Sou looked up at the sky and saw what looked like heavenly stars raining down - but they were not stars.
They were Phantasmal Thunderbolts crashing down from the heavens.
"Black Jack-!"
He threw a black card, forming a barrier of illusion to withstand the onslaught.
But the alien force shattered his domain without mercy.
"Still not enough... I haven't broken through the first form yet."
A mysterious voice echoed in his ears:
Your power comes not from skill, but from your wounds... from within."
"You must not control the cards - accept them."
He stared at the blackjack card.
It burned - calling him to accept the price of the inner demon to gain true power.
He gritted his teeth and fell to his knees.
"Saya... you once told me not to carry the burden alone."
"Then watch as I break fate itself."
[3] Saya Ootori - A Journey by Night Location: Borderline Express Train, Outside Higashigumo Academy Wrapped in a cloak, Saya Ootori hid in the corner of an aging bullet train. Beside her lay an old book of Yorumi Sou's-and the unfinished letter he never finished.
"I know you tried to hide your pain."
"But this time... you can't."
Staring out the window, she saw the burning silhouette of a white tower on the horizon.
It was the coordinate of the first lost academy.
"If the truth is buried in that tower..."
"Then I will dig it out with my own hands."
There were tears in her eyes, but her voice was determined.
She pulled a silver ring from her pocket and slipped it on her left ring finger.
"Come back to me, Sou."
"I'm not just the girl behind you anymore."
Awakening in the Dark Place: Seiyu Foundation - Seventh Research Facility - Deep Containment Room Black Blade knelt, his body etched with otherworldly markings. He no longer had the form of a human.
Mechanical arms pumped a high concentration of "Vitamin A Modified Prototype" into him.
His eyes glowed with a purple-black fire.
"Yorumi Sou. Tendou Kyouichi..."
"You are not my only targets."
"I will wipe out every academy - every world."
He stood up and looked beyond the containment doors.
"All Otherworld Walkers-heed my call.
The war is about to begin."
The Trial of Gousenji Retsu Location: Higashigumo Academy - Midnight - Dragonfang Grounds, Deep Trial Chamber Gousenji Retsu, clad in battle armor, stood alone in the silent depths of the Dragonfang Arena. Cracks along the walls told tales of past violence. The air smelled of steel and blood.
Tonight was not just a trial - it was his rebirth.
Suddenly, the air pressure shifted. The ground shook.
"Bring it on."
He whispered, his eyes glowing with a light unfit for mortals.
As the leader of the Combat Club, Gousenji had long since surpassed the limits of flesh. He sought greater reflexes, unparalleled strength, and above all, an unbreakable will.
"Trial, begin."
The words echoed like hammers pounding his soul.
A wave of dizziness hit him. He steadied himself, then charged forward, kicking down a swarm of attacking phantoms. Each blow thundered with the resonance of iron and fury.
"Hahahahaha..."
He laughed, his fists swinging wildly. Each enemy shattered like glass illusions of his former rivals, all brought down by his hands.
But as time passed, the enemies grew stronger. Faster. More real. Each clash drained his strength and spirit.
His breath quickened. His face paled. Was it physical fatigue - or mental anguish?
Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and slammed both fists into the ground. A wave of energy erupted, scattering the phantoms.
But he didn't relax.
"This is the real test."
Eyes sharp, body twitching with effort, he rose again.
"I must break through - I will not fall."
Power surged around him. The air distorted. His bones screamed with vibration.
Then a beam of golden light descended upon him.
He fell.
But he smiled.
"Trial... completed."
Gousenji Retsu stood up, overflowing with newfound strength. Body, soul and mind merged at the edge of exhaustion.
"This power... who is it for?"
He muttered to himself.
The trial was over. But the question remained:
If the power does not exist only for himself - where should it flow?
He stepped out of the chamber and crossed a silent threshold.
In the shadows beyond, Black Blade watched silently.