Chapter 5: Awakening

Thoroughly ignored by his three childhood friends, Cais gradually lost his footing within the academy.

The blatant bullying and ostracization directed at him slowly became his daily routine.

As he walked through the corridors, it was common for others to deliberately bump into his shoulder or trip him, and childish pranks like hiding textbooks or pulling away chairs were incessant.

In the dining hall, they even pretended to make mistakes and overturned Cais’s meal tray.

“Oh dear, how sorry I am? My hand slipped.”

“……”

Despite the bully’s taunts, Cais didn’t respond.

With eyes that had already lost their light and become hollow, he silently picked up the meal tray scattered on the floor.

And as if nothing had happened, he rejoined the serving line to get food.

Those around him snickered as they watched Cais.

His childhood friend Lucia was also there, but she pretended not to see him and walked past.

In this hellish reality, the only person who didn’t turn away from Cais was Olga.

He stubbornly tried to stay by Cais’s side, disregarding the stinging gazes and implicit pressure from others.

One day, someone roughly shoved Cais in the corridor, causing the stationery he was holding to fall with a clatter.

“Oops, sorry.”

“It was a mistake, so you’ll forgive us, won’t you, Cais?”

The two male and female bullies chuckled and disappeared.

Olga, who witnessed the scene from the other end of the corridor, rushed over.

“Cais, are you okay?”

“Ah… it’s Olga.”

Cais looked at him with vacant eyes.

Olga swallowed his indignation, tormented by how broken his friend had become.

He hated that he was powerless and fundamentally unable to help Cais.

“I’ll help you.”

Olga squatted beside Cais and helped him pick up the fallen stationery.

“…Thank you.”

“It’s nothing, we’re friends. Cais, you extended a hand to me when I was struggling.”

Olga’s unwavering friendship offered Cais a small comfort.

However, it was insufficient to be a pillar of support against the harsh reality that repeated daily.

****

A magic practical class some time later.

There was a training exercise where students worked in pairs to assist with magic formulas.

Cais’s partner was Valeria, his childhood friend with whom he was now estranged.

In the past, she had actively supported him, claiming she was Cais’s most suitable partner.

But for the practical, Cais was the only one who came forward.

The magic teacher, seeing this, asked curiously.

“Student Reynalsword, where is your partner? Why are you alone?”

“…I’ll do it alone.”

“How do you intend to assist with the formula by yourself? Who is your partner?”

“……”

Cais remained silent.

No, it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t open his mouth.

“Partners were definitely assigned to every single student.”

The teacher leafed through the attendance book.

“…Student Valeria Rosengarde is your partner. Student Rosengarde! Why aren’t you coming forward?”

At the teacher’s call, Valeria stood up from her seat.

However, she showed no sign of coming forward.

“Teacher, I cannot be partners with someone like that. I’m resigning as his partner.”

Her cold declaration was immediately followed by snickers and jeers from various parts of the classroom.

It was blatant mockery directed at Cais, who had been abandoned by his partner.

Valeria’s statement was incredibly humiliating and direct.

This was because it was customary for students to approach the teacher privately for such matters.

Even the teacher looked flustered by Valeria’s overly brazen outburst.

However, he couldn’t ignore a student’s wishes and forcibly pair them up.

The partnership wasn’t a one-time thing.

They would have to work together in every class from then on.

The teacher, looking troubled, surveyed the classroom.

“Then, is there any student who would be Cais’s partner in place of Valeria?”

Since one person could be a partner to multiple students, even those who already had partners could volunteer.

Yet, the classroom became as silent as if water had been poured over it.

No one raised their hand.

Just as Olga had said, everyone was trying to avoid getting involved with Cais, who belonged to a fallen noble family.

They all had to either mock him or ignore him, or fall somewhere in between.

As Cais watched the scene with blurry eyes, another deep wound was carved into his heart.

Unfortunately, Olga was not there as he was taking a different magic class.

It was at that very moment.

“I will do it.”

A low but resolute voice broke the awkward silence in the classroom.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the owner of the voice.

Standing up was the silver-haired girl who had been sitting in the very back row.

Erica Solay Argent.

She was a female student with striking brilliant silver hair and blue eyes that seemed to hold the sea within them.

“Erica volunteered?”

“…No way, it can’t be true?”

“I never expected this at all…”

A stir spread through the classroom.

Erica was usually quiet and had a cold image, making her difficult to approach.

Moreover, she was a young prodigy who possessed outstanding magical abilities and the honor of being the top student in her year.

Every single one of these accomplishments cemented her as a special presence within the classroom.

Even the teacher couldn’t hide his surprise.

“Miss Erica… you want to be Cais’s partner?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

Erica’s reply was short and clear.

“Ah, no… there’s no problem.”

Erica strode forward and stood beside Cais.

At that sight, everyone’s eyes in the classroom widened.

Valeria was no different.

However, she furrowed her brows and bit her lip, as if something was bothering her.

And her hand, hidden beneath the desk, seemed to clench into a fist.

After class, Cais approached Erica to express his gratitude.

“Thank you, Erica… for helping me.”

“Don’t mind it, I didn’t do it to receive thanks.”

Erica’s expression was indifferent, showing no particular favor.

Her voice was as cold as usual, but it strangely didn’t feel thorny.

“Why to someone like me…”

The bullying from his peers and the neglect from his childhood friends.

Amidst it all, Cais’s self-esteem was already at rock bottom.

So, the fact that Erica, the most brilliant and outstanding student in the classroom, had helped him was hard to believe.

“I just had no intention of participating in such a ridiculous game.”

“What…?”

Erica didn’t explain further.

Before leaving, she added one more thing.

“Even if it’s hard, it’s over the moment you give up. This moment, too, will surely pass.”

“What does that…?”

Erica turned and left without another word.

Cais merely stared blankly at her retreating back.

A cold and unapproachable girl.

Yet, from her words and actions, Cais vaguely sensed one fact.

‘Was she… comforting me?’

Just the thought that she might have felt that way made Cais’s emotions well up.

His eyes, long dry, felt hot.

A little life seemed to return to Cais’s empty eyes.

‘Yes, it’s not over yet. I have Olga… and there were people watching over me from behind like this. I’m not alone.’

Although he harbored such hope, the harshness of reality remained unchanged.

The bullying within the academy didn’t subside; instead, it became even more malicious.

Previously, it had mainly consisted of subtle ostracism and pranks, but now it escalated into blatant violence.

He was repeatedly pushed down stairs or dragged to secluded areas and beaten without reason.

There were times he had been seen in such a state by his childhood friends.

‘Serena….’

Cais couldn’t help but hold onto a sliver of hope.

However, Serena saw Cais being dragged away and didn’t even flinch, passing by as if it didn’t concern her.

Olga reported the violence to the academy multiple times, but the situation didn’t improve in the slightest.

Cais merely endured each day as if it were a living hell.

One day after class, Cais was once again surrounded by unruly students.

They encircled Cais, mocking him and even bringing up his father, who had recently passed away.

“Hey, Reynalsword. Are you still clinging to this academy? You should disappear miserably, just like your father!”

“You’re making us uncomfortable! Get out of here right now!”

“Do you think this academy suits you?!”

Just then, Olga, who was passing by, witnessed the scene and rushed in.

“Stop it! Cais hasn’t done anything to you! Why are you tormenting him?”

“What is this commoner trash? How dare you meddle in noble affairs? Who do you think you are?!”

“Cais is my friend!”

The bullies were busy mocking.

“Friends, they say, friends.”

“Hahahaha. A noble and a commoner being friends, that’s hilarious.”

“No, actually, a fallen noble might fit? Birds of a feather flock together, they say.”

The unruly students started provoking Olga, pushing and hitting him.

Outnumbered and outmatched in physique, Olga could only helplessly endure.

Even though he could have easily escaped alone, he stayed by Cais’s side, enduring the pain.

‘Olga….’

Cais couldn’t bear to see his friend suffering because of him.

“Stop it! If you’re going to torment someone, torment me! Don’t touch Olga!”

Cais screamed as if in a frenzy, but the bullies scoffed.

“What a touching friendship, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yeah. It almost brings a tear to my eye.”

“If that’s what you wish, we’ll grant it.”

Cais and Olga were helplessly dragged by the three bullies to a secluded vacant lot behind the academy.

As if there was no fear of being seen there, they continued their violence even more mercilessly than before.

It seemed they had no intention of keeping their promise to only beat Cais from the start, as punches and kicks rained down on Olga too.

Even while being beaten, Cais tried his best to protect Olga.

But he couldn’t keep his wits about him amidst the merciless violence pouring down on him.

Dull blows and intense pain overwhelmed his entire body.

He tasted bitter blood in his mouth, and his vision gradually blurred.

Before he knew it, only a massive sense of despair settled in Cais’s chest.

‘Damn it… this is a life where I can’t protect anything.’

His father’s futile death.

The sudden betrayal of his trusted childhood friends.

The endless abuse and violence.

Now, he truly wanted to let go of everything.

‘Maybe it doesn’t matter anymore…. It’s okay to give up, right? I’ve endured enough… I just want to rest.’

Suddenly, the three childhood friends came to Cais’s mind.

Valeria, Serena, Lucia.

Faint memories of them laughing and chatting in a flower garden while placing flower crowns on his head.

‘Why are they appearing in my mind now, of all times? To them, I’m already less than a worm.’

Was there still lingering attachment?

If so, there was only one option.

‘Let’s erase it.’

He didn’t want to suffer any longer.

He would sever all the pain, sadness, and even this persistent lingering attachment.

‘Just as you did to me……, I, too…’

Cais paused.

The voice and smile of his childhood friend calling out to him came to mind.

It was agonizing, painful.

‘I thought we would be together forever.’

A heart-wrenching pain came over him, but even so, he had to break this chain of tragedy.

Cais began to consciously erase each memory of them from his mind.

The moment he first met them.

The memory of playing together in the garden.

Their excited chase after discovering a rabbit.

The times he joined their childhood games.

Every time he painted over each of those precious memories with black, it felt like a hole was being torn open somewhere in his heart.

Nevertheless, Cais grit his teeth.

He wouldn’t stop.

[To be in the same academy as Cais! I’m so happy.]

[I hope this connection continues even after graduation.]

[Cais, let’s have a fun academy life together.]

He even erased the traces of memories from the academy entrance ceremony, full of excitement with them.

‘What’s streaming down my cheeks must be tears.’

He wouldn’t stop.

He couldn’t stop.

As he steadily sorted through his memories with them, he finally reached the farewell at the train.

[Please travel safely.]

[Even if we’re apart, please don’t forget that our hearts are always together.]

[Yes, we’re just like family to you.]

The words they had spoken to him at the train station when he was returning home after hearing of his father’s passing.

‘Goodbye, everyone. My precious past and memories.’

Cais painted over that last remaining memory with black as well.

When everything was finished, it felt as though half of his life had vanished.

‘But with this, I won’t have to suffer anymore.’

It was the moment he shed his very last tear.

An unknown window appeared before his tear-filled vision.

[System Magic Load Complete 100%]

Cais blinked blankly.

‘100%…?’

The window then changed.

[Past Life Memory Synchronization Initiated]

‘What does that mean…?’

Soon after, scenes that felt both unfamiliar and familiar flashed through his mind.

They were incredibly intense and fervent emotions.

Memories of a man who had lost his loved one before his eyes, was betrayed by trusted comrades, and struggled in utter despair as he died.

‘What is this…? These memories…?’

Although they were fragmented images and emotional shards, their impact on Cais was undeniable.

Deep within Cais’s dying heart──they reignited the flickering ember of his survival instinct.

‘Why was I trying to die? Why was I trying to give up on this life?!’

He wasn’t the one who did wrong.

He was the victim.

‘Why should the victim suffer and cry out?!’

Cais soon realized.

‘It was because I was powerless. My father’s death, my being bullied like this… all of it happened because I was weak and helpless.’

Therefore, Cais yearned deeply.

He wished.

‘I want to become strong. Strong enough not to lose to anyone!’

What he wanted, even if it meant going that far…?

‘It’s simple. I’m going to utterly destroy and crush everything that tramples and torments me. Even if it’s this entire world!!’

At that moment, an excruciating headache, as if his skull were shattering, overwhelmed Cais.

It was an intense pain that couldn’t be described as mere dizziness, making it difficult to even breathe.

“Aaaargh!”

Along with the tearing pain, a vast amount of information began to flood into his mind like a torrent.