Creakkk…
As the door parted, she lunged at the creature waiting just outside. Her grip tightened mid-flight as she swung her sword with full force. In that instant, purple lightning burst from her blade, crackling with ferocity as it shaped itself into a massive dragon. It surged forward, straight through the half-open metal door, aiming to cleave through both it and the intruder, pushing the threat far from the classroom to clear open ground for a proper fight.
BOOM!
A thunderous impact echoed as the metal door exploded outward, torn from its hinges. The lightning dragon crashed through the frame with unstoppable momentum, nearly engulfing the figure standing on the other side in its violent discharge.
Nearly.
And then—
Everything stopped!
The ambient buzz of students murmuring and lectures in the corridor came to a jarring halt. A bird mid-flight toward the corridor wall froze as it was suspended in the air like an image in a paused video.
Morganna remained facing the door, but her eyes didn't blink even once. The students in the seating stands stood frozen, some opened their mouths wide open while few raised their hands in still motion as if time itself had turned them into statues.
The purple lightning halted as well, mere inches from striking the figure at the threshold—the so-called 'monster' who had tried to enter the classroom. It remained suspended in midair.
Time itself had frozen.
I stared at the deadly lightning locked in front of me, dumbfounded, terrified even. That attack would've obliterated me had I been even a fraction of a second late to activate the [Time Stop] factor I gained after Nirvana, I'd have been ashes scattering on the spot.
That was the kind of strike that could kill me a thousand times over.
I silently offered my thanks to whatever gods were still listening... as I carefully stepped back from the purple dragon frozen mid-lunge, still poised to turn me into dust.
After three thought-counts, the duration of [Time Stop] reached its end.
The world resumed.
The sound of students returned first, chaotic murmurs crashing back into the hallway. The bird finally completed its arc and landed on the corridor wall with a flutter.
I still didn't know why my own teacher had just tried to kill me, but if she didn't provide a satisfactory explanation within the next few minutes, I wouldn't mind suing the entire academy. My eyes narrowed as they turned cold.
The chilling wave Morganna and the surrounding students had felt before surged back, even stronger now.
She stared past the shattered door, startled. "I missed?! Is that monster stronger than a C-Ranker? To dodge that strike from just inches away?"
She didn't know who was behind the door, but all she knew was that she must kill that thing. The thought that she might be acting on impulse never once flashed in her mind.
Her fingers curled tightly around her sword's hilt as she dropped into a combat stance. The students followed suit, preparing for battle against the so-called 'monster'— but... as the monster walked in from the doorless entrance, all of them froze again, this time not from time manipulation, but from sheer disbelief.
Because they now realized the source of that terrifying Cold Wave… was me.
I met their stunned expressions without emotion and spoke in sarcasm. "Professor Morganna. It seems you failed to kill me. Would you like to try again?"
The students face turned ashen!
Morganna didn't answer right away as she stared at my eyes unblinkingly which made me quite nervous.
Why is she looking at me like that? Is she angry at me for some reason? Is that why she tried to kill me?
Damn it! Why am I this scared?
I suddenly missed not having fear.
But it had returned from its vacation after my Nirvana
Or maybe someone sent it back to me?
Who knows.
While I was lost in that thought, Morganna raised her hand, making me instinctively step back. A soft purple glow shimmered on her palm, forming into a radiant symbol. The light expanded outward, transforming into a barrier that wrapped around us like a domain. I couldn't see past it anymore.
My heart picked up, but I forced it to steady as she stepped toward me.
"Lucian, did you undergo Second Awakening?" she asked, her gaze fixed directly on my eyes. She hadn't looked past them once.
Gazing coldly at her, I immediately shook my head. "No. I don't think so!"
I didn't know much about Evolution or the world outside of my own experiences, but there was one thing I did know: I wouldn't trust anyone with something like that. Not even Morganna, no matter how caring or responsible she appeared to be. She might have been a teacher everyone revered, but that didn't mean I'd let my guard down around her.
Morganna smiled faintly. "Good, you're not naive. Since we are on the topic, how much do you know about Second Awakening?"
I raised a brow at her probing, but I figured I wouldn't lose anything by answering.
"Well, not much. I know it is rare phenomena where someone undergoes another Awakening to get a new Evolution Class. It's even rarer than being a Natural, and they're usually stronger too. Beyond that... I'm pretty lost, honestly."
Morganna nodded, like she had been expecting that response. "Hmm. You are only half right. Every Evolution Class is a Core Resonance, a unique vibration tied to your Genetic Codex and Spiritual signature. We call them 'Classes,' but 'Paths' would be more accurate. Just like a string can only resonate with one true note at a time, no one can hold two Core Resonances simultaneously."
Core Resonance? Spiritual Signature? what are those?
Just as I raised my head to get clarification, a classic line echoed in my ears, "You are not qualified to know about them, yet!"
With a grimace, I started to piece the available information together. In our Genetic Evolution lectures, they'd told us no two people could share the same Class. That was the foundation of everything. But when she said "simultaneously," it hit me: Could someone replace their Class?
"Wait, so you're saying a person can't have two Classes at once, but they could replace one for another?"
I hadn't really thought of it like that before, but it made sense. Nothing about this world was simple, so why should this be any different?
Morganna's smile deepened, approving. "Exactly. We cannot have two Classes at the same time, but we can discard the previous one for a new Class, if given the opportunity—though there's always a price. Second Awakening is one such opportunity, where one could change their Class or gain a Factor that could either strengthen or complement their existing Evolution Path."
BOOM.
That last sentence confirmed my suspicions.
My Nirvana had been a Second Awakening!
It had given me a few broken abilities I was still trying to understand, with [Time Stop] being just one of them. All these abilities were mentioned as Factors rather than Skills. I swallowed the urge to check my 'Status Window' again as excitement welled up in my chest. I was no longer the F Rank failure I had been yesterday.
Morganna paused, her gaze locking with mine. The next moment of hesitation in me seemed to confirm her suspicions. "Do you know why I brought up Second Awakening?"
"Because my eyes turned pale?" The words slipped out before I could stop them, and I immediately regretted saying it.
But, it was the only visible change that resulted after my Nirvana as my deep blue eyes turned little paler, and Morganna kept looking at them like they were some candy.
"Yes, that. And the Cold Aura you're passively projecting. Those who undergo Second Awakening are often people who have died once before. One of the traits that marks them afterward is pale eyes, like yours, and a Cold Aura surrounding them. Your Aura... for some reason, it resembles something far more monstrous—something from the Outer Ruins."
I froze. Monstrous? From the Outer Ruins?
A chill ran down my spine!
Am I walking around the campus while practically announcing that I am an awesome treasure?
If she could guess that, then anyone could, right? If word got out that I was a Second Awakener, trouble would definitely follow, from both the Council and the Dark Forces. The Council might pressure me to join them, as they valued Second Awakener's like treasures. And I refused them, the worst they could do was make my life miserable by limiting my access to Portals and some other stuff to intimidate me.
But the real problem was the infamous Dark Forces.
They were rumored to have the ability to extract Evolution Classes, and there were so many Second and Natural Awakeners who had mysteriously disappeared. Though these were rumors, I now took them as absolute truth as staying vigilant was paramount.
Morganna nodded with satisfaction, "Good. You should be anxious. Though no one can extract someone's Class since it's deeply encoded in your Genetic Codex, extracting Factors was relatively easy."
Did it even matter if they harvested someone's Class or Factor? In the end, the victim's fate was still death.