A few weeks had passed since the first day of class and the orb incident. Thankfully, Elara wasn't punished for shattering the crystal. Instead, she was deemed a gifted child. She even told me that once we graduate, she might receive an honorary noble title and gain the right to establish her own house.

  How progressive of them.

  Walking these halls feels entirely surreal. In my previous life as Viper... no. I never had the luxury of a formal education.

  Quite frankly, I am glad I didn't. It seems most relationships forged in this establishment are fake and strategic. It is pathetic, really. Even though they are children, their eyes betray them. I can see exactly which ones approach me just to get a taste of the D'Arden influence.

  Although, what did I expect? This is a school for nobles, after all.

  Then again, I am a thirty-five-year-old man inside a thirteen-year-old girl's body. My mind is slowly being eroded by this body's biology. Because of this, I have been secretly sneaking out of the academy to test local flora.

  My goal is to synthesize a compound that can repress these foreign emotions.

  However, everything seems futile. Most of the plants here are marked as deadly. Even if I identify a usable specimen, they seem to grow only in specific, unreachable parts of the continent.

  In the meantime, I have been ingesting small doses of plant-toxins to build immunity and condition my fast-twitch muscle fibers. While magic is useful, it is also extremely dangerous. I decided to prioritize physicality and body-enhancement magic instead.

  A few days ago, I experimented with the magical-frequency colors. I suppressed my barely noticeable Violet aura and shifted it to Red to test the capabilities of each spectrum.

  I began with Red.

  It appears this frequency governs physical force and terrestrial manipulation. I found I could generate force fields or manipulate rocks and soil. However, it has a strict limitation regarding equivalent exchange. Unlike fire magic, I cannot conjure earth from thin air. I must be in direct contact with the ground or holding the stone to manipulate it.

  Next was Orange.

  This seems to be the volatile link between flame and earth. I was able to generate combustion and fuse it with soil to synthesize magma. The drawback was immediate and severe. The moment I completed the spell, a splitting migraine nearly brought me to my knees.

  And then Yellow.

  Yellow proved to be the most unstable. It is difficult to control, and the best I could manage was a raw discharge of energy that acted like a flashbang grenade.

  Green is biological in nature. It is best suited for self-enforcement, healing, and minor body modifications, such as rapidly regrowing a chipped nail. However, this comes at a high caloric cost. It is the most taxing form of magic because it cannibalizes my own body’s nutrients to fuel the regeneration.

  Then came Blue.

  This is the frequency closest to my native aura. It is versatile. I can use it to accelerate my own healing, generate electricity, or manipulate thermodynamics to produce fire and ice. I attempted a higher-tier application: constructing a solid object through mental projection. It was a mistake. The drain was instantaneous, and I collapsed before the object could fully materialize.

  Finally, I considered Violet.

  Despite it being my native frequency, it is the most exhausting and is borderline deadly. I have theories on how I could utilize it. However, given how my body reacted to the lesser auras, I suspect that using Violet would have lasting, perhaps even permanent, consequences on my body. I decided to hold off for now.

  So I decided to shelve those experiments. For now.

  "Seraphina! Seraphina, hey, wait! Where are you going? Are you not going to get lunch?"

  Elara sprinted down the hallway, her footsteps echoing as she caught up to me.

  I stop in my tracks and turn. and began examining her face. What is this girl's angle? Ever since the first day of the academy, she had attached herself to me.

  Does she think I need help just because a few students confronted me? Although, looking at her now, she does look oddly familiar.

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  "Oh! What's wrong, Sera?" Elara blinked, self-consciously touching her cheek. "Is there something on my face?"

  "No, it's just... hmm, how do I say this? Why are you so clingy?"

  "Eck!" Elara recoiled, looking flustered. "That is so mean, Sera!" She dramatically shifted her posture, straightening her back to appear more formal and dignified. "Well, if you think I am being too clingy, then I suppose I can tone it down."

  "Oh. No, don't take it as an insult. I am merely asking. It seems like you have known me since the very first day, and that caught me off guard."

  "Well, that is because I... already do... know you! Can't you remember me, Sera?" Elara shifted closer, pointing emphatically at her own face as if the proximity would force me to recognize her.

  I searched the memories of Seraphina's mind, but came up blank. "I am... sorry. I don't think I do."

  "Uweh! How could you, Sera!" she whined dramatically.

  I flinched slightly at the noise, but before she could continue her complaint, a hazy image flickered in the back of my mind. A younger, grimy face that matched the girl standing before me.

  "Wait," I murmured as the pieces fell into place. "Were you the girl from the slums?"

  Elara's eyes lit up like stars. "YES! Yes, that’s me!"

  She reached out and grabbed my hands, clasping them firmly within her own warm grip. "I gave you that toy! Do you remember now?"

  "I suppose I do," I admitted. "But that does not explain why you are so attached to me specifically. What is your motive?"

  "Well, I guess it is because I have heard the rumors people say about you." Elara looked down, her gaze fixing on the floor tiles. "And I felt bad..."

  I suppressed a scoff. I see. So it was just pity.

  Suddenly, Elara's voice began to shake, as if she were about to cry. "You were so kind to me back then! And... and I just wanted to repay you!"

  What are you saying? You do not know the real me. My brow furrowed in irritation, ready to dismiss her sentimentality. But then I stopped.

  Elara raised her head. With her face fully in the light, I realized she was crying.

  "And... and I just wanted to say thank you for helping me back then," she stammered, her voice hitching. "But when I saw you getting bullied by the others, I just couldn't leave you alone."

  She frantically tried to wipe the hot tears from her eyes with her sleeves.

  "And I was right! You are a kind person! Everyone else here has been so mean. They keep calling me names because of my background, but you are the only one who didn't push me away!"

  A sudden realization hit me. Watching her cry, I finally understood the depth of her isolation. She was a lone commoner surrounded by predators, trapped in a hostile ecosystem where everyone wished to see her fail.

  It must be suffocating. In a twisted way, both Viper and Seraphina could relate to that feeling of being an outcast.

  My hand moved on its own, reaching up to awkwardly pat her on the head. Even though she was taller than me, the gesture felt necessary. It felt right.

  I realized I had been selfishly fixated on my own survival since arriving at the academy. In my panic, I had forgotten the core reason behind my plans. I resolved to change this world not just for myself, but to protect people like Elara. I needed to shield those who were being trampled by the weight of high society.

  I softened my expression, giving Elara a rare, warm smile. "It is okay. Everything is going to be fine."

  Elara shook slightly as she sniffled back her tears. As she looked at me, her eyes brightened with shock. She clearly had not expected such sentimentality from me. Overcome with relief, she lunged forward and enveloped me in a crushing bear hug.

  My body stiffened instinctively at the contact. However, after a brief hesitation, I relaxed and awkwardly returned the embrace.

  "Thank you, Seraphina," she whispered into my shoulder.

  I smiled, leaning into the warmth of the hug before I slowly pulled away. "If you ever..."

  A?n?d? ?y?e?t?,? ?k?i?n?d?n?e?s?s? ?i?s? ?w?h?a?t? ?g?o?t? ?u?s? ?k?i?l?l?e?d?.?

  I immediately flinched, whipping around to see if anyone was standing behind me.

  "Seraphina? What's wrong?" Elara asked, concerned.

  A high-pitched ringing began to scream in my skull. I stared at Elara, then at the empty space behind me, and back to her. My breathing hitched. That voice.

  I clutched my head, digging my fingers into my scalp. No. No, no, this cannot be happening.

  I collapsed to one knee, the realization crashing down on me. The voice that just spoke... that cold, detached voice... that was Viper.

  Then the realization hit me. If that was Viper, then who was speaking now? I realized that ever since the Rite, the voice of my internal monologue... the voice I identified as "me"... it wasn't mine.

  I have been thinking with Seraphina's voice this entire time.