Valemont Academy – Monday – 7:00 AM
Renji hated mornings.
Not because he was lazy—he wasn't.
Not because the beds were uncomfortable—they were.
But because every morning, something in Valemont changed.
Today, it was the clock tower. It was ticking backward.
And no one seemed to notice.
Classroom 2B – Comparative Mythology and Forbidden Lore
Professor Daresh was the kind of teacher who spoke in riddles, never took attendance, and occasionally brought in artifacts that hummed when no one was watching.
Renji took his seat.
Next to him: Liora, top student in theory, hopeless in practice, currently sketching runes on her wrist like it was just another Monday.
Behind him: Nikolai, blunt, angry, possibly marked, definitely not sane.
Daresh tapped the chalkboard, which immediately fractured like ice.
Today's topic:
"Symbolic Resurrection Across Cultures: When Death Isn't the End, Just a Change in Grammar."
Renji's pen hesitated.
The phrase hit too close.
Daresh turned to the class.
"Can anyone name a culture that believed names could return after death?"
Liora raised her hand. "Sumerians."
Nikolai muttered, "Egyptians."
Renji didn't speak.
Because in his dream last night, he'd heard a name whispered after the voice had already died.
His own.
After Class – Courtyard
Renji sat under a warped ash tree, rereading Elias's note for the hundredth time.
A voice interrupted.
"You spacing out again, or is your inner monologue just louder today?"
It was Liora.
She tossed him an apple. It was blue. Probably safe.
Renji bit it anyway.
"Both," he said.
She sat next to him, crossed her arms.
"You're not the only one seeing them, you know."
Renji looked up. "Seeing what?"
She didn't answer. Just lifted her sleeve.
The sunflower. Small. Barely visible. But real.
"I thought it was a hallucination," she said. "Then I saw it in a textbook. On page 47. A page that shouldn't exist."
Renji leaned in.
"What was the book?"
She shrugged.
"No title. It was in the library… but now I can't find it again."
He didn't doubt her.
Valemont didn't lose books.It hid them.
Headmaster's Office – 3:00 PM
Renji had been summoned.
Not for misbehavior.
Not even for being found near Vault 9.
The headmaster offered tea. That was worse.
"I suppose you know why you're here," the man said.
"No," Renji replied.
"Good. Neither do I."
That... was new.
The headmaster pulled out a box. Metal. Cold.
Inside: a fragment of stone.
Renji didn't react.
But the symbol burned under his skin.
"We found this under the old chapel ruins," the headmaster said. "No context. But you were mentioned."
Renji's mouth went dry.
"What do you mean 'mentioned'?"
The headmaster slid a photo across the desk.
A carving.
In Old Norse.
Renji couldn't read it.But he understood it.
Because the last word in the phrase… was "Kurogane."
And the line before it?
"The boy who forgets the gods."
That night, Renji skipped dinner.
He stayed in the library. Section C.
Found the book Liora couldn't.
It wasn't supposed to be there.
Titleless.
Page 47 was torn out.
But on page 48, there was a sketch:
A mirror.With an eye.And a reflection that wasn't the reader's.
He didn't sleep.
Again.
Because tomorrow's class?
Daresh had written it on the wall:
"Tomorrow: Class Cancelled.Students marked with sunflowers, report to Room Null."
And Renji's palm was glowing.