The small, dimly lit restaurant was filled with the comforting aroma of toasted spices and sizzling meat. For most students, this was a sanctuary of flavor and camaraderie, but for Nico, it was a laboratory of sensory observation. He sat across from Melina, watching her with the detached precision of a scholar observing a foreign species.

  ?"Mmm... this is incredible! These crispy meatballs are to die for. Honestly, I think they put some kind of magic in the sauce. What do you think, Nico? Don't just stare at your plate, try them!"

  ?Nico exhaled a slow, controlled breath, his expression remaining a mask of stoic indifference. "I hear you, Melina... but perhaps you could lower your voice. The acoustics of this room are reflecting your enthusiasm to every table in the establishment."

  ?"Oh... sorry!" Melina chuckled sheepishly, her face flushing a light pink as she swallowed a half-chewed bite. "I just get excited about good food. It's a habit. But tell me, Nico... did you ever have food like this where you came from? I realize you've lost some of your memory, but surely the taste of something this good would stick with you."

  ?A faint, hollow smile touched Nico's lips—a smile that didn't reach his eyes. It was a facial gesture he had practiced in the library mirrors, meant to mimic comfort, yet it masked a psychological burden far too heavy for the simplicity of a dinner conversation. A heavy silence hung between them for a moment, the laughter of other students becoming a distant blur in his ears.

  ?"No, Melina," he spoke, his voice dropping to a low, resonant tone that seemed to vibrate in the air. "The only thing I tasted there was the Void—a flavor of absolute zero, of existence stripped of its substance. I lived within a blade of questions that gnaws at my mind every waking hour. Even sleep, which represents a sanctuary for your kind, has become a threshold I dread to cross. The truth, Melina—no matter how long it takes to surface—is usually bitter, cold, and utterly terrifying."

  ?Melina blinked, her fork freezing mid-air. The joy in her expression flickered and died, replaced by a look of profound confusion. "Sorry, Nico... I'll be honest, I didn't understand a single word of that. Are you talking about your home? It sounds... lonely."

  ?"It's nothing," Nico replied, his calm demeanor snapping back into place like a shutter. "Do you like the food? You seem to have a particular preference for the crispy meatballs. Personally, I find the texture of the fried chicken and mashed potatoes to be the most efficient for consumption. What other dishes do you find pleasing?"

  ?Relieved to be back on familiar ground, Melina began listing her favorite foods with infectious joy. Nico watched her, his mind retreating into the corridors of his own thoughts.

  ?(Even though I have never associated with these creatures before, the adaptation is beginning. I am starting to blend in. I am beginning to feel... human. I am analyzing their logic, their messy emotions, and the way they tether their survival to these small, fleeting pleasures. Humans are a paradox... especially you, Melina. You stay by my side and offer your guidance, even though I provide nothing in return. I don't know what the future holds for this vessel, but I have a premonition that this peace is a fragile illusion.)

  ?"Nico... Nico... NIKOOO! Are you drifting again?"

  ?Nico snapped out of the trance, the world rushing back into focus. "Oh... yes. I apologize."

  ?"Every time I sit with you, you zone out for minutes at a time," Melina said, her voice laced with genuine concern. "Your skin looks pale, even for you. Are you not feeling well?"

  ?"You're right, Melina..." Nico placed a hand on his forehead, his brow furrowing as a sudden, sharp pressure built behind his eyes. "I am... not well. My body feels as though it is burning from the core outward, yet my skin is cold. My head is pounding with a rhythm that doesn't belong to a heart. I think I need to leave..."

  ?Suddenly, Nico's body lurched violently. Before he could even push his chair back, his vision fractured into a thousand shards of light. The strength vanished from his limbs, and he collapsed, his body hitting the wooden floor with a heavy, sickening thud.

  ?"NIKOOO! Nico, talk to me! Someone help! Please, help us get him to the infirmary... quickly!"

  ?Darkness.

  It wasn't the peaceful silence of sleep, but a searing, white-hot migraine that seemed to tear through his very soul.

  ?Nico opened his eyes, but his vision was a blurred mess of shifting shadows. He looked down at his right hand; his dark Mana was plummeting, the levels dropping so rapidly it felt like a leak in a pressurized vessel. It was as if his body was shutting down, rejecting the human form, or perhaps requiring an unknown "reinforcement" that the world of men could not provide. He felt himself on the verge of being reclaimed by the Void.

  ?Then, the darkness tightened its grip.

  ?(Where am I?)

  ?Nico found himself standing in the center of a silent wasteland—a ruined, skeletal version of Earth. The sky was a bruised purple, and the structures of men were nothing but twisted iron and ash. In the far distance, he glimpsed it again: that Crown. It was a spiked, terrifying construct of light, radiating an ancient, ominous authority that felt like a physical weight on his shoulders.

  ?Then, a voice boomed.

  ?It wasn't a voice made of vocal cords and air; it was a guttural vibration that resonated in his marrow, making his heart race and his paralyzed body tremble.

  ?"C-O-R-R-E-C-T-I-O-N..."

  ?(Who said that? Who are you?! Why am I here?!)

  ?Nico tried to shout, but he had no voice. His body began to dissolve at the edges, the particles of his being drifting away like black sand in a storm. He was being erased, systematically removed from the fabric of this vision. A deafening roar tore through the atmosphere, and a massive storm of raw, unrefined energy surged toward him, swallowing the horizon.

  ?He tried to run, but he was pinned by an invisible force of absolute sovereignty. The storm was closing in... it was the end of all things.

  ?"No... no! Wait! NOOOOOOO!"

  ?Nico bolted upright, his lungs burning as he gasped for air. His shirt was drenched in cold sweat, and his heart was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.

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  ?He found himself on a white infirmary bed, the smell of medicinal herbs and sterilized linen filling the room. The distorted sounds around him slowly sharpened until he could hear the rhythmic ticking of a clock.

  ?"Are you back with us? Hey... can you hear me, Mr. Nico?"

  ?His head was still throbbing with a dull, rhythmic ache. As his vision cleared, the Academy's head physician appeared, offering a weak smile and a heavy sigh of relief. He looked as though he hadn't slept in days.

  ?Nico steadied his breathing, his eyes darting around the room. "It felt like an eternity... tell me, Doctor, how long was I in that place?"

  ?"A fair question," the doctor said, his expression turning grave. "I don't want to alarm you, but you've been unconscious for sixteen days. We had begun to assume you had fallen into a permanent coma. We couldn't diagnose the cause; your internal Mana readings were erratic, unlike any human or elf I've ever treated. Even your medical records provide no explanation for such a state. However, what gave us a sliver of hope was a word you began repeating forty-eight hours ago."

  ?Nico's eyes narrowed. "What word?"

  ?"Correction," the doctor whispered, a shiver visibly running down his spine. "You said it over and over. I've been a physician for thirty years, but the way you said it... it didn't sound like your voice. It sounded like something much older."

  ?(Correction...) Nico thought deeply, the word tasting like iron in his mouth. "I see. Thank you for your care, Doctor. I will return to my quarters shortly."

  ?"I'm afraid I can't let you do that just yet," the doctor intervened, placing a firm hand on Nico's shoulder. "You need rest and a full evaluation. There are dozens of students who have been hounding the infirmary doors to see you, but I've barred all visitors for now. You need to gather your thoughts."

  ?Nico nodded slowly, feeling the lingering weakness in his limbs. "Understood. I will follow your instructions."

  ?"Thank you for being cooperative. I'll leave you to rest. If the pain returns, touch this crystal beside you; it sends an acoustic alert directly to my office."

  ?The doctor exited the room, but he paused in the hallway, leaning against the cold stone wall. (I didn't tell him everything,) he thought, his hand trembling slightly. (That voice... it was terrifying. It felt like the air in the room was being replaced by something that didn't want us to breathe. Perhaps I'm just overworked. Yes... that must be it.)

  ?Inside the room, Nico exhaled sharply, staring at the ceiling. (So this is what humans call 'Fear.' To see a world destroyed while you are still tethered to it... a breathtaking end. But that voice... it came from the direction of the Crown. Every time I focus on the word 'Correction,' the pain in my core intensifies.)

  ?Exhaustion began to pull at his eyelids again, but the silence was shattered as the door was slammed open with a violent bang.

  ?"NIIIIIIKKOOOOOOOOOOO! Nico! Are you alive?! Tell me you're alive!"

  ?Nico jolted in shock, his hand instinctively flaring with a spark of dark Mana. (What the—?! Is the nightmare back?)

  ?He snapped his eyes open to find Melina standing in the doorway, her hair disheveled and her eyes red from lack of sleep. She was gasping for air as if she had run across the entire kingdom.

  ?"Why, Melina... WHY?!" Nico shouted, clutching his chest as his heart did a painful somersault. "Are you trying to send me back to the coma? Did someone plant a loudspeaker in your throat? Tell me who did this to you, and I swear I will end them!"

  ?Melina winced, her face dropping into a look of frantic guilt. "Oh... sorry! Sorry, sorry! I swear I won't raise my voice again! I was just so worried. I had to sneak past the guards because the doctor is a tyrant. Even the students who carried you here are worried; they're all obsessed with you now after you challenged General Akaria!"

  ?The doctor stormed back into the room, his face turning a vibrant shade of purple. "You! I told you to stay in the waiting area! How dare you trick a medical professional?! Dammit... I'm too old for this."

  ?"I'm sorry, Doctor! I just had to see him!" Melina squeaked.

  ?The doctor sighed, rubbing his temples. "I know you're worried, but he needs his circuits to stabilize. If his Mana spikes again, he could fall back into a coma. Once he's stable, I'll allow visitors."

  ?Melina looked at her boots. "You're right, Doctor... I apologize. I was being selfish."

  ?"Don't worry, Melina," Nico said, his voice regaining its calm, analytical edge. "I am functional. Once I regain my strength, I will return to the sessions. I'll be counting on you to provide the data on everything I missed. Thank you... for your concern."

  ?Melina's eyes welled up with relief, and she offered a watery smile. "Thank God you're safe, Nico! I'll be waiting in the courtyard every day. See you soon!"

  ?The doctor led her out, grumbling about "insufferable youths" as he closed the door.

  ?Nico sank back into the pillows, the physical ache in his body competing with the grim churn of his mind. (I might lose my sanity before I understand this world. Why did I hear that word? 'Correction' implies a mistake. Am I the mistake? Or is the world itself the error that needs fixing?)

  ?He tried to process the fragments of the vision. The spiked crown bore no resemblance to the gold and silver trinkets of human kings. It felt like a piece of a greater, more ancient entity, something that sat at the apex of the Void itself.

  ?(Humans are a fascinating paradox,) he mused, looking at his pale hands. (They rely on a messy system of biological reproduction and emotional bonding. They link their survival to concepts like 'love' and 'privacy,' and they flush with embarrassment at the mere mention of their instincts. For now, I feel none of these things. My vessel is a puppet, but the strings are starting to feel like nerves. I must refine my reactions to blend in more effectively.)

  ?His thoughts then shifted to the dark energy within him. (This Mana... it behaves like a predator. Whenever I am near someone of high rank, it surges as if it wants to consume their element. That is what happened when General Akaria appeared; the pressure was almost uncontrollable. I need to discover the limits of this Black Mana before it discovers mine.)

  ?He recalled the moment he took this human form in the desert. (I changed my appearance simply by touching 'Nelson'... an internal instinct drove me to mimic his structure. Will I ever revert to my true form? I hope not. The cost of being discovered as a creature of the Void in a kingdom of men would be a war I am not yet ready to fight.)

  ?Closing his eyes, Nico whispered to the silent room: "Correction... let it be just a nightmare."

  ?[In the Academy Hallways]

  ?Melina walked with hurried, anxious steps toward her next class, her mind still back in the infirmary. (I hope he really is okay. He looked so... different when he woke up. Like he was looking through me rather than at me.)

  ?Suddenly, the temperature in the hallway seemed to plummet. A sharp, hostile aura approached from around the corner. It was Grotaro Natalia, surrounded by her usual entourage of elven sycophants. She was wearing a sneer that dripped with pure, unadulterated malice.

  ?"So... you're the one they call Melina Aethel?" Natalia laughed, the sound cold and crystalline. "I heard you're friends with that freak, 'Nico.' The word is going around that the 'brave' human who insulted me in the arena has finally broken. I hear he's rotting in the infirmary like the trash he is. How pathetic. To think a bug like him dared to stand before a General."

  ?Melina stopped, her voice trembling but her gaze firm. "Don't say such things, Natalia. Nico is more ambitious than anyone I've met. What happened to him was exhaustion from a power you clearly don't understand."

  ?SLAP!

  ?The sound of the impact echoed through the hallway, followed by a sudden, heavy silence. Melina's head snapped to the side, her cheek blooming with a violent red mark.

  ?"Shut up, you pitiable creature!" Natalia hissed, her eyes burning with elven arrogance. "If I were you, I would have abandoned that loser the moment he fell. There are plenty of powerful students in this academy; why do you chase a failure? But I suppose this is all a 'slave' like you deserves. Your kind should be crushed under the feet of the superior races—under the feet of the Elves."

  ?Melina clutched her reddened cheek, tears welling in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She kept her gaze low, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and a new, burning resentment.

  ?"Excuse me, Natalia," Melina said, her voice small but steady. "I have to get to class. I don't have time for your bigotry."

  ?Natalia watched her leave with a look of pure disgust. "Hmph. Such a lowly race... you've all stained the prestige of this academy just by existing. When Nico wakes up, tell him I'll be waiting to finish what he started."

  ?

  [End of Chapter 5]