The tragedy at the Abyss Gate sent tremors through the entire human continent.

One hundred and twenty one students had died, boys and girls with bright futures, died in one of the most prestigious academies in existence. Families mourned for their lost children. Friends left behind stood hollow eyed during memorial services, clutching mementos, guilt and memories. Grief soaked through the Academy walls like heavy rain through cracked stone.

For the first time in centuries, Nexus Academy's untouchable reputation bore a permanent scar. The safest place on the continent had failed its promise.

The academy didn't close but the weight in the air was undeniable.

The whispers started soon after. Rumors twisted and spread like wildfire across the student body stories about the gates, the cult and the students who had faced them.

Some spoke of Arthur, the first year student who held the line and led them with courage. Others whispered the name Ryker, the first year who stepped into fire and fury and sacrificed his own life away to save dozens.

Both were declared heroes.

Students were whispering their work like legends. And like every legend they were given titles by the students.

Arthur became known as The Wolf a leader, a shield, a defiant howl against the darkness.

And Ryker, the boy who bled light into the abyss, was now called The Saint.

And among these two young heroes, the so-called Saint was thinking about his next move.

*****

Ryker walked through the academy grounds in silence. His steps were slow and steady. It has been a few days since the incident. The burns and torn flesh had mostly faded under the hands of expert doctors but the ache in his bones remained.

Not from the pain.

But from time.

Two hundred and forty days. That's all the time left. That's the time system had given him.

F*ckkk!!!

Ryker cursed as thought about the time he has left. The world around him was still in mourning but his mind was already racing ahead. There was no time to rest. His enemies weren't resting and his body was a ticking bomb.

'I have gambled everything during that final heal. I sacrificed more life force than I could have afford to lose'

Now he had to fix that or die before this game was even halfway through.

His mind wandered to the main casts who came to thank him. Arthur, Lia and even Lucas had visited his room. They have praised and thanked him. They called him a hero.

But, They had no idea what price he had truly paid for being the hero.

'Maybe Lucas did…'

As his mind wandered deeper into his next move, an angry voice cut through the air taking him out of his own thoughts.

"Ryker!!!"

He turned and saw Sasha standing in front. Her eyes were burning with fury, her brows furrowed tight enough to carve a scar into her skin.

Ryker raised an eyebrow and smirked seeing her, "Morning, Sasha."

She didn't return his pleasantry greetings. Instead, she hissed, "Follow me."

Her voice was low and dangerous.

He looked into her eyes and sighed. "Lead the way."

The walk was silent. Every few steps, Ryker could feel the student's eyes flick toward them, their whispers trailing behind like shadows.

Eventually, they reached a secluded part of the academy, a quiet, forgotten garden where no students were present during this time of the day. The vines here grew wild and the shadows of trees blocked out most of the sunlight.

It was a graveyard of memories.

Sasha stopped and turned. Without a warning, she grabbed Ryker by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Why?" she screamed, "You told me, No…you promised me that none of them would die"

Her grip trembled with rage.

"Every single student I attacked for that plan... they are all dead! Do you know how many of them trusted me? Do you know how many laughed the night before? You….you monster"

Ryker looked down at her coldly, "There is no victory without sacrifice," he said calmly, "They had to die for me to get the results I needed."

Sasha's eyes widened. "The results? They were people! Children! You used them like…like test subjects"

"They were pawns," Ryker said in a low tone, "Just like you."

Smack!!!!

Hearing it she slapped him, hard. The sound echoed between the stone walls.

"You don't get to decide that"

"No, Sasha," he said as he brushed off his shirt. "I do. Because unlike you, I am willing to stain my hands to reach my goals."

"You said this was about revenge," she spat back "That you would help me destroy the Lockharts."

Ryker's tone darkened. "And I will. But if you think revenge comes without blood, you are even more naive than I thought."

"You used me..."

"I still am."

He stepped forward.

"And if you keep forgetting your place, you will lose whatever value you have left"

In one singular motion, he struck her throat. The attack was not strong enough to do any damage to her but it was strong enough to disrupt her oxygen flow. Her body spasmed and she collapsed to her knees. She was gasping and sobbing.

Ryker looked down at her with a quiet contempt, "You want vengeance? Then stay useful. Otherwise, you are just another liability I have to erase."

He turned and walked away, leaving her in tears on the ground.

As he stepped through the academy shadows, he thought about Sasha, "She is unstable. Just like in the original storyline. Lucas had trouble dealing with her breakdown... now it's my turn."

He paused for a moment

"If it weren't for her friendship with Lia, I would get rid of her. But if she dies... Lia will notice. And if Lia notices, Arthur will come sniffing around following her"

He chuckled to himself, "You get to live a little longer, Sasha. Be grateful."

******

Ryker arrived at the Serene Mountain Library just before noon. He spent way too much time thinking. The old marble structure loomed before him silent, grand and untouched by the chaos of the midterms. A place of knowledge and shadows.

Ryker entered the library.

He had a single purpose now. It was meet his next key piece.

Someone special.

As he moved through the massive library he soon reached the spiral staircase that took students upstairs, he climbed and walked through the hushed corridors, his memory pulled something forward. A fragment of memory came to his from the days when he edited this world from the outside.

"There was a character," he recalled about a certain character, "barely shown. Barely written. Yet unforgettable"

She had appeared for just a few chapters. No dramatic backstory. No emotional arc. No loud declarations. Yet, somehow, readers latched onto her. Every comment, every review, echoed the same sentiment.

She had main character syndrome without even trying. That mystique. That unspoken presence. That gravity.

And now, he was here to meet her.

He entered a quiet chamber near the top floor and there she sat. Her presence alone filled the room like cold moonlight.

Ryker's lips curled into a slow, calculating smile.

"Eleanor Nightingale"

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