The dungeon was now quiet.
The monster was dead.
But the air still felt wrong.
Something was watching them.
---
Eiden walked away from the class.
He didn't want attention.
His sword was already back in its sheath.
But Elara followed him.
"Wait," she said.
Eiden stopped.
He didn't turn around.
---
"You're hiding something," she said.
Eiden stayed silent.
Elara's eyes were sharp.
"You're not just a sword student, right?"
Eiden finally spoke.
"I just study a lot."
She didn't believe him.
But she didn't push more.
Not yet.
---
Back at the academy, students talked.
Kai was quiet now.
He didn't laugh anymore.
Even he knew—Eiden was strong.
Too strong.
---
In the headmaster's office, teachers talked.
Mr. Corvin gave a report.
"There was something strange in the dungeon," he said.
"Not just the monsters. There was… a pull. Old magic."
The headmaster nodded.
"I'll contact the Central Guild. Maybe it's starting again."
---
Late at night, Eiden sat in his room.
He meditated with his eyes closed.
His sword rested beside him.
But inside his mind, something opened.
A memory.
---
It was dark.
He stood in a burning city.
Flames rose high.
A girl cried in the background.
A monster laughed in front of him.
His hands were shaking—but full of power.
He screamed a spell.
"Aeterna Tempus—Bind Eternity!"
---
Eiden opened his eyes.
He was sweating.
That was… a real memory. From before I died.
More memories were coming back.
Not just feelings.
Real visions.
Real names.
Real spells.
---
Suddenly, a light glowed in his hand.
It was a small mark.
Shaped like a circle with stars.
It pulsed once, then faded.
"…The Chronos Loop," he whispered.
"It didn't fail."
He looked at the window.
The moonlight touched his face.
"I didn't go back in time… I was reborn."
---
At the same time, deep under the academy…
A locked vault began to hum.
Magic seals cracked a little.
Inside the vault was a crystal.
In that crystal—
A face.
Half human, half beast.
Its eye opened.
"…Arkanos…"