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The Shadow Arrives
The academy bell tolled midnight—its sound warped, as if echoing through a dream.
But this was no dream.
The western training field—usually reserved for senior duels—was cracked open by an invisible force. Mana in the air stilled. Light flickered unnaturally.
Sylvia ran, her coat flaring behind her, eyes sharp with fear she couldn't explain.
She wasn't alone.
A dozen elite students had already fallen. Unconscious, yes—but their magic cores had been… drained. Like dried husks.
And at the center of the field stood him.
The Sin-Eater.
Wrapped in flowing blackened bandages, with a broken timepiece dangling from his neck, and two eye sockets bleeding pure crimson light.
> "He shouldn't exist," Sylvia whispered. "He was erased two centuries ago…"
The Sin-Eater turned slowly.
> "Gravemore."
---
Harvey's Entrance
Harvey stepped into the field, coat swirling with an unnatural breeze. The rune on his back glowed faintly under his shirt—a barely contained curse.
He didn't even glance at Sylvia.
His gaze was locked onto the Sin-Eater.
> "Last time we met," Harvey said coldly, "you begged me to kill you."
The Sin-Eater tilted his head.
> "And yet, here you are. Still cursed. Still afraid."
> "Not afraid," Harvey said, flexing his fingers. "Prepared."
Lightning cracked—not from the sky, but from Harvey's feet.
---
The Duel Begins
The first move was not magical.
It was instinct.
Two blurs of movement.
Harvey spun, his palm coated in silver flame, ducking beneath a blade of compressed entropy.
The Sin-Eater's weapon distorted space around it, creating momentary warps—fragments of time loops that showed different versions of Harvey mid-dodge.
One dead. One injured. One victorious.
Only one survived.
The real Harvey slid across the dirt, summoning a sigil mid-motion.
> "Chrono Break."
A ripple burst from him—freezing the Sin-Eater for 1.3 seconds.
Enough time for a counter.
Harvey punched forward, embedding a Spell Core Shard into the Sin-Eater's chest—an old tool, forbidden by the council.
But the Sin-Eater laughed.
> "Still playing with broken toys, Gravemore?"
He shattered the shard with a surge of temporal decay.
---
Flash of Memory
For a moment—just one heartbeat—Harvey's mind snapped.
A vision of his past life returned.
The Sin-Eater kneeling, bleeding, whispering:
> "I was your failure. Your mistake. You made me, Gravemore."
Back then… Harvey hadn't killed him.
Back then… he thought mercy mattered.
> "This time, I won't hesitate."
---
Sylvia's Stand
Sylvia leapt into the fray, drawing her twin blades of auric light.
> "I don't care what's happening," she shouted. "You're both insane—but I'm not letting you die here, Harvey!"
The Sin-Eater hissed.
> "Ah. The girl. Elowen's descendant…"
Sylvia's eyes widened. "What… did you say?"
Harvey growled.
> "Don't listen to him. He's trying to confuse you."
But it was too late.
The Sin-Eater had planted a seed.
One Sylvia wouldn't be able to ignore.
---
Harvey Unleashed
Blood trickled down Harvey's fingers.
The rune on his back unlocked a second layer.
> "You wanted a duel, monster?"
He slammed his palm into the ground.
> "Let me show you Gravemore's true legacy."
The ground cracked.
Chains erupted—black, spectral, screaming.
Each one represented a soul Harvey had personally judged in his previous life.
The Sin-Eater stumbled.
> "You're not supposed to remember that art…"
> "Too bad," Harvey whispered. "I remember everything."
---