1.01.3 The blinded agony.

"It happened, didn't it?" The woman who had been silently tracking Dan's movements asked her maid, who had just received a startling report from spies embedded within the school.

Her actions were dangerous—recklessly so. If discovered by the LOA, her background might protect her from severe repercussions, but she would still have to answer to both her father and the LOA. Such exposure could jeopardize her plans entirely.

The success of her operation depended on secrecy. Dan had to remain hidden, unknown to the world. If the boy were discovered too early, it would ruin everything. He had to struggle, to grow without interference. Only then could humanity's savior avoid the pitfalls she had seen in her visions.

"Struggle makes a man," she mused silently, her expression hard.

Her maid, though nodding in agreement, hesitated before speaking. "Miss, this operation of yours is too dangerous. One of our contacts just notified me that the Principal has called for the Null Knight to oversee security."

At those words, the woman's brow furrowed deeply. 'This is troublesome.' There were few who didn't understand the weight carried by that title. The Null Knight. A name synonymous with death and calamity.

"Bringing such a monster to an auspicious event... no wonder." She knew there was only one man who bore that title.

"There will need to be further precautions," she said, her voice colder now. "Inform our contacts in the infirmary to ensure the boy is cared for. After the LOA deems him unworthy of their attention, we will take him. No risks." Her tone left no room for debate. With someone like the Null Knight involved, she couldn't afford even the slightest mistake.

Her mission was already a partial success. Reports confirmed the boy named Dan had bled from his eyes during the awakening process. Combined with the ability he had awakened, it matched the descriptions she had seen in her visions of the future.

There was no need to gamble further.

"So, Miss, are we leaving now?" the maid asked tentatively.

"Well, I am leaving," the woman replied sharply, her gaze narrowing. "But you will stay behind. Make sure no harm comes to the boy. You remember my earlier orders, don't you?"

The maid nodded. "I'll be discreet at the hospital. I'll make sure there's no trace of our involvement."

"Good," the woman said with finality. Her lips curved into a faint, almost patronizing smile as she clapped her hands lightly. "I look forward to hearing the story of your success."

With that, she stood, her guards falling into formation as they exited the café. She left a handful of men behind, along with her maid, who slumped in exhaustion as the weight of her task sank in. 'This lady will be the death of me,' she thought bitterly.

Unbeknownst to the maid, a pair of eyes watched them from the shadows. These were no ordinary eyes—devoid of light, they seemed to absorb the very essence of the world around them. Even the faintest glimmers of illumination dared not escape their void.

"Interesting," came a cold voice, the word drawn out like a whispered threat.

The figure in the shadows vanished, reappearing moments later in the room where Dan lay unconscious.

"The mighty hold interest in you," the voice murmured as the figure stepped closer to the boy's bed.

Outside, the ceremony continued. The testing was still in full swing, with no runners discovered yet. But it was only a matter of time before someone tried to escape—an inevitability that would require the Null Knight's intervention.

Yet here he was, standing in the ward of a boy the LOA had already deemed a failure.

"What do we have here?" the Null Knight asked, his voice cold and detached. He picked up the test results from the desk, scanning them briefly before setting them down again.

Reaching out, his gloved hand brushed back Dan's hair, revealing a long, jagged scar running across the boy's head.

"An ugly child with an ugly face…" he muttered, his tone void of emotion. His gaze lingered on the boy, a faint trace of curiosity flickering in his otherwise empty eyes.

"Curious," he whispered, his hand hovering just above Dan's forehead. "Fate seems eager to spin its threads around you. Why?"

The Null Knight turned, pacing slowly around the room. His steps were silent, his presence suffocating. He paused, his gloved fingers brushing lightly against the edge of the desk, his eyes distant.

"The strong bend fate to their will, but the weak... the weak are its playthings. And yet, sometimes, it is the weak who survive. Who endure. Who defy even gods."

His gaze returned to the boy, his expression unreadable.

"You should have died," he murmured. "By all rights, this world should have snuffed you out. And yet, here you are."

For a moment, his gloved hand tightened into a fist before releasing. He leaned over Dan again, his empty eyes searching the boy's bleeding face as if seeking answers.

"An ugly child with an ugly fate," he repeated, his voice soft but cutting. "Yet... fate favors the unlikely, doesn't it?"

Straightening, he placed the report back on the desk with a deliberate motion.

"So I will be curious some more," he said, his voice taking on an almost poetic cadence. "And I will not speak of this opportunity to your so-called owners."

Turning to leave, his figure began to fade into the void. His parting words lingered in the air, chilling and cryptic:

"Entertain me. I hope you do."

The room fell silent again, but the weight of his presence remained. Even in his absence, the Null Knight's words clung to the air like a lingering shadow.

It was at this moment that the boy woke from his long, tormenting dream. His body jerked upright with unnatural force, and the first sound to escape his lips was not a word but a horrifying, primal scream.

"Uaahhh!"

The sound cut through the air like a jagged blade, rising into a blood-curdling crescendo before shattering into a pitiful, guttural wail. It was not the cry of a human—it was something far more visceral, more raw, a sound born of pain too great to be contained.

In the grip of this agony, his hands shot to his face, trembling violently as if guided by a force beyond comprehension. Before anyone could react, before the reality of what was happening could settle, his fingers dug deep into his own eyes.

A sickening squelch filled the air, followed by the wet sound of tearing flesh.

Blood streamed down his face in thick rivulets as the boy screamed again, his voice cracking into a hollow, broken echo of the first. And then silence.

The boy fell back, his now sightless eyes staring blankly into the void. He had blinded himself, tearing away the very light he could never fully understand.

The room seemed to hold its breath, heavy with the weight of what had just occurred, as though the very air mourned the violence of his awakening.