The Shadow Academy nights were far from truly quiet. Moonlight was fragmented by tall walls and barbed wire, only the faint yellow light from the training grounds stubbornly pierced the dense night fog, illuminating this land steeped in murder. In the dorm, the snoring of other cadets rose and fell, but Rin felt no trace of sleep. The extraordinary synergy he and Ye Xue had displayed during the daytime simulation combat burned like an unresolved enigma in his mind. He felt a premonition, a sense of approaching darkness.
Sure enough, late at night, faint footsteps echoed in the corridor. Rin's eyes snapped open. In the darkness, he could clearly sense a malevolent killing intent drawing closer to their dorm. This was an unwritten rule within the academy—eliminate the weak, or preemptively remove potential threats in the competition. The venomous glint in the buzz-cut boy's eyes from earlier that day flashed through Rin's mind.
The door was silently pushed open, and three dark figures slipped in. Poisoned daggers glinted in their hands, their targets fixed on Rin's bunk. Rin's heart pounded, not from fear, but from the excitement of combat and instinctive alertness.
He lunged out of bed, his short dagger unsheathed, cutting a cold arc in the darkness. However, his opponents were clearly prepared and skilled. The three attackers moved in perfect coordination, surrounding him in a triangular formation, their daggers darting out like venomous snakes, aiming for Rin's vital points. Although Rin was agile, he had only recently been reborn, his physical capabilities not yet at their peak. More importantly, he lacked the combat memories of a top-tier assassin, relying solely on instinct to maneuver.
"Bang!"
He was violently kicked in the abdomen by one assailant, slamming into the wall with a grunt. Then, another dagger grazed his arm, leaving a searing pain. The poison quickly permeated, his body began to numb, and his movements slowed.
Rin felt his consciousness blurring, the triumphant sneers of his enemies echoing in his ears. He saw the shadow of death, a coldness both familiar and strange. He remembered the moment Ye Xue's dagger pierced him in his dream, that heartbreaking betrayal. Was he destined to die again at the hands of a betrayer… or under the ruthless rules of this hellish academy?
No!
A powerful surge of survival instinct and rage erupted within him like a volcano. He couldn't die! He had too many mysteries to unravel, he still needed to find Ye Xue and demand the truth!
In that critical moment between life and death, an unprecedented power, like a torrent, surged through his meridians. Through his extremely blurred vision, he saw everything around him slow down. Even the trajectory of the enemies' daggers seemed infinitely elongated. This was an ultimate insight, a sensitivity beyond physical limits.
"Shadow Strike."
A never-before-heard phrase, carrying an ancient and mysterious aura, abruptly exploded in his mind.
The next moment, Rin's body transformed into a true "shadow." He no longer simply dodged; he seemed to merge with the darkness, becoming an uncatchable afterimage. His speed instantly escalated to a level barely discernible to the naked eye, his body seemingly able to phase through space.
He appeared behind the first assailant, his short dagger moving upward, slicing across the opponent's carotid artery. The movement was as gentle as a feather's brush, yet lethally decisive. The person fell silently, without even a sound.
Immediately after, he materialized beside the second assailant, evading the opponent's frantic dagger thrust. With a backhand strike, he precisely stabbed the opponent's heart.
The third assailant's eyes widened in terror, watching his comrades fall, his body stiff with fear. He couldn't even cry for help before Rin's dagger was silently pressed against his throat.
"Scram," Rin's voice was hoarse and cold, like the whisper of the grim reaper from the depths of hell.
The assailant, terrified out of his wits, scrambled away, as if pursued by a demon. The dorm room returned to a deathly silence, leaving only Rin's heavy breathing and the powerful, uncalmed force still surging within him.
He felt an extreme weakness, followed by intense physical pain; the "Shadow Strike" seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He knelt on the floor, barely supporting himself, his consciousness again plunging into a crimson haze.
This time, it wasn't a dream, but a clearer fragment of his past life's memory.
He was the "Blade of Demise" once more. In the dead of night, he stood atop a desolate high tower, moonlight like silver, yet unable to dispel the scent of blood that clung to him. His black long saber was stained with blood, and around him lay mountains of corpses—all "obstacles" that had prevented him from completing his mission.
And his opponent was a woman, equally slender and uncanny. She wore a moon-white cloak, her silver hair wildly dancing in the night wind, an ice-blue longsword in her hand pointed directly at Rin's heart. Her eyes held a desperate resolve, almost bordering on despair, and a hint of sorrow he couldn't comprehend.
Every clash between them was accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air. Blades collided, sparks flying like shooting stars in the night sky. Rin's power and speed were pushed to their limits; his swordsmanship was concise and deadly, pushing the woman into perilous situations with every move. And the woman, her sword techniques were equally exquisite, her blade imbued with icy energy, entwining Rin's attacks, attempting to freeze him.
This was no ordinary kill; it was more like a destined end. He saw his arm gashed by an ice blade, saw the woman's chest pierced by his black saber, only for it to be instantly healed by frost. They both seemed to have reached their limits, yet neither could stop.
Finally, in an almost suicidal lunge, the woman plunged the ice blade into Rin's chest. It wasn't Ye Xue's poisoned dagger from his dream, but a purely ice-forged, lethal weapon.
"Rin…" she whispered brokenly, her voice trembling. Tears mingled with blood, sliding down her delicate cheeks. "I'm sorry… I had no choice…"
Rin's heart was pierced by the ice blade, feeling life drain away. He wanted to ask "why," wanted to ask "sorry for what," but he could no longer speak. His gaze remained fixed on her silver pupils, which were filled with pain, until his consciousness completely faded.
—So, it was this silver-haired woman who killed the "Blade of Demise." And she knew him!
Rin struggled, snapping out of his daze. He gasped, the pain in his body reminding him that he had just fought a real death match, and the crimson memory fragment of his past life had surfaced with it.
He had thought Ye Xue betrayed him. But now, he saw another person who assassinated him—a silver-haired woman. And this silver-haired woman, at the moment of his assassination, showed unspeakable pain and even said "I'm sorry" to him. What exactly was going on?
Rin felt his mind about to explode. The memory fragments were like puzzle pieces, each one overturning his previous understanding. Ye Xue's betrayal, the silver-haired woman's assassination, and that phrase "I had no choice," all pointed to a deeper, more complex mystery. He had to figure out what relationship existed between Ye Xue and this silver-haired woman. Which of them was the true mastermind? Or were they both pawns?
Meanwhile, in another dorm on the other side of Shadow Academy.
Ye Xue also woke from a shallow sleep. Just now, at the very moment Rin was attacked and close to death, a powerful surge of energy rippled through her own body. It was an instinct for extreme danger, but even more bizarrely, her body inexplicably trembled, and a strange pang of pain shot through her heart.
She sat up abruptly, a hint of panic, previously unseen, appearing on her usually indifferent face. This tremor was so familiar, yet so alien. She vaguely felt that what had just happened resonated with "something" deep within her that she had deliberately suppressed.
She got out of bed and walked to the window, looking towards Rin's dorm. The night was deep; she couldn't see anything clearly except for faint lights. But she knew the disturbance had come from there.
"Did… did I kill him once?" Ye Xue murmured to herself, her voice carrying a tremor she didn't even notice. The thought exploded in her mind like a lightning bolt. She had always been ruthless and emotionless, never believing in sentiment. But for some reason, whenever she faced the boy named "Rin," she always felt a strange familiarity and an inexplicable heart flutter.
She closed her eyes, trying to recall that memory, but her mind was blank. However, the unspeakable, heavy feeling of having once taken a life, lingered truly in her heart.
Ye Xue's hand unconsciously went to her chest. She felt a strong sense of unease. If that boy, Rin, truly was connected to her past, if she had indeed "killed" him, then what did all this mean? Had she, too, lost her memory?
A cold assassin, now questioning her own past, even wondering if she had personally brought ruin to someone whose fate was intertwined with hers. Ye Xue's eyes became complex and profound. She knew she had to find out. The boy named Rin might be the key to unlocking her own mysteries. She would observe him, even approach him, no matter how cruel the truth might be.