The gym was silent, vast and hollow, save for Matthew's uneven breaths. Sweat clung to his brow. The air smelled faintly of dust and iron from the training racks.

Then—

Knock. Knock.

The sound jolted him upright, heart skipping.

"Who is it?" Matthew called, his voice rough, uncertain.

The door creaked open before he could even rise fully.

Professor Lok stepped inside. His crooked back hunched beneath his long robe, cane tapping once against the polished wood. His shadow stretched unnaturally long across the floor, as though the light itself recoiled.

Matthew's brow furrowed. His throat felt tight.

"Professor…?"

Lok's lips curved. It resembled a smile, but not one born of kindness.

"I heard you were having… a fight."

The words slid from his tongue like oil.

Matthew's jaw tightened, his voice cracking with bitterness.

"What? Are you here to stop me?"

A dry chuckle slipped from Lok's throat, brittle and rasping, a sound that seemed to burrow under the skin.

"No, no… not to stop. Far from it."

He leaned slightly on his cane, eyes glinting with a sharpness that felt wrong.

"Instead… have you unlocked it?"

Matthew's gaze flickered to his side, where the faint shimmer of the key-shaped seal pulsed faintly against his skin, like a brand. His hand brushed it unconsciously.

He gave a slow nod.

"I must say… this artifact is really strong."

Lok's smile deepened, shadow stretching further across his face.

"That's good… very good. Accept it more." His voice lowered, intimate, coaxing. "With it, you won't be looked down on anymore. Not by your peers… not even by your father."

Matthew's chest constricted. His fists clenched at his sides.

(Father… always comparing me… always choosing Caishin over me… no matter what I did. I…)

The Vein Seal pulsed faintly, as if responding to his anger. A whispering pressure curled at the edge of his thoughts, urging him forward.

Lok's eyes narrowed, watching intently.

"Do you feel it? That strength blooming in you? All the mockery, all the scolding, all the failures they brand on your name… with this, you can erase them."

His cane tapped once, sharp against the floor.

"You can make them remember who Matthew Lomwel truly is."

The gym seemed darker now. Even the moonlight filtering through the high windows appeared dimmer, as though veiled.

Matthew's breathing quickened. His hand trembled near the glowing mark.

(Erase them… make them remember me… no more being Caishin's shadow… no more being weak…)

The whisper in his chest grew louder, almost intoxicating.

Lok leaned closer, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Go on. Accept it. Power born from your pain is still power. And in this world… power is the only truth."

The silence stretched.

Matthew's lips parted, uncertain… but his eyes burned with a dangerous flicker.

Matthew's hand trembled as he pressed against the glowing mark on his skin.

At first, it was warmthintoxicating, like fire spreading through his veins. His Shinrei surged, doubling, tripling. His muscles felt lighter, stronger. His breath came sharp and fast.

But then—

The warmth twisted. It coiled around his chest like chains, sinking deeper, drinking greedily. His Shinrei, once flowing smoothly, began to spiral inward, consumed by the seal's hunger.

Matthew staggered, clutching his arm as the mark glowed violently.

"Ngh—wha… what's happening?!"

His voice cracked. Sweat trickled down his face. The gym lights flickered, the very air shuddering with his unstable energy.

The seal pulsed like a heartbeat. Each throb pulled more Shinrei from him, flooding his body with both pain and strength.

His thoughts grew jagged.

(Yes… stronger. Yes… no one will laugh again. No one will compare me again. Father will see. They'll all see. Even Caishin… even him—)

Lok's eyes gleamed, watching the struggle like a predator savoring prey.

"Good… very good. Don't resist it, Matthew. Let it flow. Do you feel that? That's your true self awakening. That power is yours — and yours alone."

Matthew's knees buckled, then locked firm again. His body shook under the torrent of energy. The floor around him cracked with faint fissures as Shinrei leaked uncontrollably, saturating the air in a suffocating pressure.

His eyes once uncertain, once clouded by doubt now flickered with a dangerous light.

The Vein Seal burned brighter, drawing his Shinrei into itself, warping it, tainting it.

And somewhere deep within him, beneath the noise of rage, a whisper that wasn't his own echoed faintly:

(More… give me more… break them… break everything…)

Matthew gasped, clutching his head.

"Shut up! Get out of my head—!"

But the whisper only deepened, resonating with his pain.

The gym was no longer just a training hall. It felt like a cage, the shadows thickening, the air colder.

Lok leaned on his cane, smiling as though listening to beautiful music.

"Yes… yes… that's it. Let the door open, Matthew. Every door you open changes you… but this one will set you free."

Matthew's Shinrei flared violently, surging upward like a storm about to burst.

The gym doors rattled violently then swung open.

Andromeda Ban stood at the threshold, chest heaving from his sprint across the campus. His eyes widened at what he saw.

Matthew Lomwel was hunched forward, his skin flushed with heat, his Shinrei spiraling wildly like a storm gone mad. The mark on his arm glowed with a sickly light, veins crawling outward from the seal like black roots. The floor beneath him cracked, spiderwebbing as if rejecting his presence.

Andromeda's heart pounded.

"What's… going on!!"

Professor Lok's head tilted sharply. His hunched frame straightened ever so slightly, as if irritated at the intrusion.

"Tsk. Someone found out about us."

His eyes glinted, cold and sharp, locking onto Andromeda with predatory disdain.

Andromeda clenched his fists, taking a step forward.

"Professor, what are you—"

But before he could finish, Lok's form blurred. His silhouette warped like smoke, vanishing into thin air with a soundless ripple.

"Wait—Professor—!" Andromeda shouted, his voice echoing uselessly through the chamber.

But when his gaze fell back toward Matthew, the words caught in his throat.

Matthew was no longer the boy he had known.

His eyes flickered with a burning red haze, pupils thinning like a predator's. His aura, once wild but human now pulsed with a suffocating darkness, laced with whispers that Andromeda could almost hear, pressing against the edges of his mind.

Matthew's Shinrei had completely lost its rhythm, spiraling into something alien. His breath came ragged, his voice low, broken between rage and agony.

"Nnnnhh—Andro…meda…"

But the words were swallowed by the roar that followed. A guttural, animalistic sound tore out of Matthew's throat as his Shinrei exploded outward in a violent surge.

The first stage of Void possession had begun.

Andromeda's teeth clenched. His heart twisted with anger and fear.

"Matthew… damn it, what did that old man do to you?!"

The gym trembled. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the walls. And Matthew — no, the thing Matthew was becoming raised his head slowly, the glow of the Vein Seal pulsing like an eye.

His corrupted Shinrei lashed outward, crashing against Andromeda's body like a wave of knives.

The fight was no longer about discipline. It was about survival.

To be continue